Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Viktor Lavrinenko
[REGNUM] Nature abhors a vacuum: the declining population of the Baltics has resulted in a surge in wild animal populations. Wolves, having wiped out most of the roe deer and wild boar, are now preying on domestic animals, causing significant losses to livestock farmers, while bears are roaming the streets of EU cities, where the population is literally fleeing.
The demographic situation in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia has been deteriorating for a long time, with cities emptying and streets becoming dead. Therefore, the rampage of dangerous animals occupying new territories is not at all surprising.
| Today Japan's NHK_TV had a report about black bears in the rugged north of the main island and also in Hokkaido starting to eat people in the rural areas |
WILD GUESTS
Every year, Estonia pays its residents approximately 400,000 euros in compensation for damage caused by predators. For such a small country, this is a significant amount. Local media reports regularly report new wolf attacks.
One of the most recent incidents occurred in the village of Muuksi, where grays raided a farm. Farm owner Marit Mürk keeps thirty horses and several cows. "My horses were racing around the paddock, the cows were mooing, and I heard a distinctive howl," she said.
Remarkably, wolf packs had never been seen in this area before, as the capital city of Tallinn is nearby. But there's a first time for everything.
Residents of southern Estonia, whose farms are located near Soomaa National Park, have recently suffered particularly severely from wolves. Farmer Tiit Soa complains : "Wolves have killed about a hundred calves. The situation is catastrophic—they won't stop."
Cattle breeder Andres Hein reported that his herd has already been virtually destroyed: "About thirty cows have already been eaten, and they will continue to eat more."
Siim Suitsmart, a farmer from Pärnu County, said he sends his cattle to the floodplain meadows of Soomaa every summer. Previously, there had been no wolf attacks there, but everything changed overnight.
"We brought the cows to the floodplain of the Khalliste River at the end of May, and they stayed there for three days. One calf was eaten, and a few days later, there were more attacks," Suitsmart said.
Cattle breeders are expecting decisive measures from the government.
Soa and her fellow sufferers have been writing to various authorities for almost a year now, pointing out that measures to “protect ecosystems” have gone too far: it’s time to shoot predatory animals.
According to the Department of Environment, three wolf packs inhabit the Soomaa area, one of which lives right within the national park. The problem is exacerbated by three factors: the rugged terrain, a hunting ban within the park, and a ban on wolf hunting in adjacent hunting grounds.
And yet, in September, they managed to shoot one wolf with a special permit. Hunter Aymar Arro said he spent nearly twenty hours in ambush to achieve this.
Locals believe that wolf hunting should also be permitted in hunting grounds adjacent to the national park. "Authorities need to decide what's more important now—maintaining meadows or breeding wolves," Suitsmart complains.
According to Saa, the increase in attacks on livestock is due to a shortage of game in the forests, which predators have already largely depleted. Ecologist Tanel Türna from the State Department of Environment notes that the number of roe deer in the forests has sharply declined due to various diseases and an increase in predators. Elk numbers have also declined, leading hungry wolves to seek out more readily available prey on farms.
At the same time, Türna believes that the wolves in Soomaa should be considered part of the national park and therefore they also need to be “protected.”
Bears are a separate issue. In 2020, hunters reported that there were 1,000 bears in Estonia, but now there are 1,400—and that, again, is a huge number for a small republic.
Bears have become overcrowded in forests, and they regularly venture onto city streets. On May 10, a video surfaced of a bear cub running free in the resort town of Narva-Jõesuu. Wildlife sightings are common here and in Narva. Foxes, moose, and roe deer are frequent visitors.
The public is keenly interested in what to do if a bear appears. "I have no practical advice, other than to contact the Department of the Environment for a hunting permit," complains Tõnu Tamm, a board member of the Lääne-Lahemaa County Hunters' Association.
"Before the court suspended the bear hunt, twenty-eight animals were shot. We've currently issued about ten permits for problem animals. The wolf hunt is ongoing, but it's also being contested in court," laments Rainer Vakra, Director General of the Estonian Environment Agency.
VILNIUS VS. THE BEAR
Experts note that bear sightings in Lithuania have become significantly more frequent in 2025. Previously, these animals were thought to have long since disappeared from the republic—the last representative of the local bear population was shot back in 1883.
But the demographic crisis, coupled with depopulation, is taking its toll—the bears have returned to Lithuania and are feeling more and more confident with each passing year.
On June 14, residents of Vilnius suburbs began sharing alarming news of a bear sighting. "My husband and I were driving toward Vilnius and saw a bear crossing the road," Lina, a Lithuanian woman, told the press. Shortly thereafter, the bear was spotted on Žibury Street, right between the houses.
A day later, he was wandering along Ukmerges Street, which is much closer to the city center. Calls for caution began appearing on social media.
The Lithuanian Hunters and Fishermen's Society called on the authorities to immediately remove the animal from the capital's streets. They suggested the animal was experiencing stress from its unfamiliar surroundings, making it doubly dangerous.
Ordinary citizens also demanded that the outrage be stopped quickly—that drones be deployed, the bear found, euthanized, and returned to its natural habitat. But Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas effectively admitted his impotence and merely ordered an investigation into how many drones the city has.
The Ministry of the Environment demanded that Toptygin be killed, claiming that shooting him would be the easiest option. However, the hunting community decided to show humanity and flatly refused to shoot the animal.
At the same time, it turned out that there was not a single specialist in all of Lithuania who could competently euthanize a bear remotely.
While the discussions were going on, the bear left the city voluntarily.
Lithuanian experts have explained that bears do not come to Lithuania from Belarus, as locals believe. The Lithuanian-Belarusian border is now virtually impossible for animals to cross, as it is surrounded by fences and barbed wire barriers, which periodically kill moose.
No, bears come to Lithuania from the north, from Latvia and Estonia. The depopulation problem there is even more acute than in Lithuania, and the bears have multiplied in numbers.
IF THEY BITE YOU, THEN COME BACK.
In Latvia, residents living outside cities are urged to be vigilant. "The likelihood of encountering a bear today is two to three times higher than it was ten to fifteen years ago," said zoologist Jānis Ozoliņš.
He advises mushroom and berry pickers not to go into the forest alone, not to stay there overnight, and to make as many sounds as possible so that the bear will hear the person in advance and avoid them.
In early November, residents of the Latgale village of Sprindas appealed to authorities to shoot a bear roaming the area.
Earlier, local resident Ivan Gorshanov left his home to walk his second-grade son to the school bus. They had a one-and-a-half-kilometer walk from their home to the bus stop. Spotting a bear halfway along the path, the father and son took refuge in a nearby house.
However, the state Directorate for Nature Protection (DAP) rejected the farmers' collective appeal, finding that "there is currently no threat to human life in Sprindas."
The DAP asserts that “usually bears’ approaches to people are random—most often they are attracted by easy prey: scattered fruits and vegetables, unprotected beehives.”
As a result, people are now afraid to leave their homes, and at night they are forced to guard their yards, light fires, and turn the radio up to maximum volume. They are outraged by the callousness of officials who adhere to the principle: "When they're done, then come back."
However, police quickly arrested a hunter accused of illegally killing a bear in the Ogre region. Hunters note that the bear population in Latvia is increasing: estimates range from 130 to 300 individuals.
In July, Agriculture Minister Armands Krause called for putting people first. He believed that the DAP should be allowed to hunt all wild animals that wander near homes, pets, or bee hives, posing a threat to human life.
“I seriously urge the whole of society not to live under the illusion that a bear is a cute, furry animal,” the minister said emotionally.
But so far, his request has fallen on deaf ears: DAP believes it's premature to discuss introducing bear hunting quotas. Meanwhile, last year, Latvia paid out €8,000 in compensation for damage caused by bears.
However, wolf hunting is permitted in Latvia – this year, 370 individuals can be shot.
Recently, the republic has been plagued by a new scourge: the golden jackal. This invasive species arrived in Latvia relatively recently, presumably from the southeast, via Ukraine and northern Belarus. It was first discovered in December 2013 near Jelgava, and is now being encountered with increasing frequency.
The Baltic jackal population boom, as well as that of wolves and bears, is directly linked to a demographic crisis: the fewer people, the more animals.
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