His name is Radun, he weighs over 200 kilos, his movements are closely monitored: The absolute ruler of Golija

Photo: RINA

Bears on Mt. Golija in southwester Serbia are no surprise, and it is not uncommon for locals to have a close encounter with these forest animals. In cooperation with the Golija Nature Park and the Faculty of Biology from Belgrade, two bears have now been and fitted with GPS collars. Radun and Malisa are these two inhabitants of these wild areas.

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"With GPS collars, their natural movements will be monitored. Radun, as an older bear, covers a much larger territory, he moves in part of Mt. Javor and across all of Mt. Golija. He is dominant in that area, he never left that territory or went on further trips, unlike some other bears of his age. Malisa is much more territorial and moves in a very small area in the vicinity of Radocel, which is to be expected considering his age," Professor Dusko Cirovic from the Faculty of Biology in Belgrade told RINA.

Malisa is two years old and is effectively still a cub that his mother needs to let go of, while Radun is over eight and is now at his peak, weighing over 220 kilograms, one of the dominant males in that area. Although sometimes just seeing a photo of a bear inspires fear, it is stressed that if you see one there is no need to panic, because it is very rare that they attack people unprovoked. Most bears will sense humans in their vicinity first, and hide.

"When you see a bear, you should not panic, instead move away to a safe distance. The usual reaction of a bear is to run away even if you let it know you are in its area by making some sort of sound. The bear will hear it and will not appear in front of you, but of course, do not shout too loud, because that can be counter-productive and make the animal feel threatened and attack in order to defend itself," concluded Cirovic.

(Telegraf.rs)