Twenty Years of Bears in Switzerland: A Conservation Milestone

Switzerland marks 20th anniversary of first bear sighting since species extinction, with 22 bears documented since 2005, though only one currently resides in Lower Engadine.

Key Takeaways

First bear sighting in Switzerland occurred on July 25, 2005, after 101 years of extinction
22 bears have been documented in Switzerland since 2005
All bears migrated from Trentino, Italy to Graubünden
Currently only one bear lives in Lower Engadine near the national park

By The Numbers

Bears that stayed in Switzerland longer than one year

101

Years Switzerland was without bears before 2005

Total bears documented since 2005

They Said

"However, the increasing bear population in Trentino makes it possible that female bears will also arrive in Switzerland one day"
— Swiss Wolf Group (GWS)

Historic Return

Twenty Years of Monitoring

Conservation Challenges

Future Prospects

Sources & References

Two decades since first bear sighting in Switzerland

SWI swissinfo.ch

Key Takeaways

First bear sighting in Switzerland occurred on July 25, 2005, after 101 years of extinction
22 bears have been documented in Switzerland since 2005
All bears migrated from Trentino, Italy to Graubünden
Currently only one bear lives in Lower Engadine near the national park

By The Numbers

Bears that stayed in Switzerland longer than one year

101

Years Switzerland was without bears before 2005

Total bears documented since 2005

They Said

"However, the increasing bear population in Trentino makes it possible that female bears will also arrive in Switzerland one day"
— Swiss Wolf Group (GWS)

Key Takeaways

By The Numbers

They Said

Historic Return

Twenty Years of Monitoring

Conservation Challenges

Future Prospects

Sources & References

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