The Tatra National Park has posted a video on its Facebook site of a mother bear and cub making their way along a snowy slope.
Spring is a period of increased activity for bears, which, after hibernating for about three or four months, leave their lairs and start looking for nourishment to replenish their fat stores.
The park has warned visitors to stay off trails from dusk to dawn to avoid an encounter with an awakened animal wandering around the area in search of food.
For the time being, bears have been spotted in the lower Tatra valleys. The upper parts of the mountains are still covered with a thick layer of snow, but as the animals are hungry they also venture into residential areas.
The inhabitants of the region have been warned against the possibility of stumbling into a bear at a garbage or compost bin.
The presence of bears near houses is nothing new at this time of year, say park rangers, but residents of housing estates near the national park have been advised to secure their garbage cans appropriately so that the bears do not learn to eat up the remains of human food, which is harmful for them.
The Tatra National Park has posted warnings how to behave when spotting a bear, with “stand still, don’t approach, do not run and try to remain calm” topping the list.
Brown bears are the largest mammals living in the Tatra Mountains and are under strict protection in Poland. They usually hibernate from November to March.
Adults weigh around 300 kg and live up to 50 years.
(ab/gs)
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Agnieszka Bielawska.
