Friends of nature and large carnivores gathered on 27-28 September 2024 in Répáshuta. WWF Hungary with its partners, the Municipality of Répáshuta and fellow-LECA partner, Bükk National Park Directorate organised the Carnivore Carnival. The main aim was to shed light on large carnivores and promote best practices of coexistence.
Nature themed talks, hikes, film screenings, games and quizzes and different culture programmes, such as the performance of the local folkdance and choir ensemble, the musical stage show by the puppet theatre of the nearby Eger attracted visitors from the region and afar.
A roundtable discussion was dedicated to human-wildlife conflict. Participants discussed challenges different stakeholders, especially hunters, face as a result of the presence of large carnivores in North Hungary and looked for potential cooperation opportunities, such as joint monitoring. In addition to this, the wildlife project manager of WWF Romania, a special guest of the event, provided an update on the large carnivore situation in Romania and introduced best practices on coexistence. In the Transylvanian holiday resort, Baile Tusnad, local government, WWF Romania and local NGOs have been mitigating bear-related conflicts. You ask how? Bear-proof garbage bins were installed, electric fences defend the orchards and the beehives, fruit trees have been replaced by other native species in public spaces, problematic bears have been relocated and local citizens have been educated on coexistence.
You can watch a short video, the atmosphere is amazing! 🙂