© Federico Di Dio photography/ Unsplash
Location: Slovenia
Large carnivores
Brown bear (Ursus arctos), wolf (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), including the highly endangered subspecies Balkan lynx (Lynx lynx balcanicus) are present in the area.
This background report assesses the situation regarding the current status of large carnivores, their management and monitoring, threats and conflicts in the Dinaric Region.
Dinaric Pindos Brown bear
According to the 2012-2016 assessments of the regional Red List of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) there are about 4000 bears in the Dinaric Pindos bear population. The map shows the distribution across the Dinarides (2012-16). Presence mapped in 10×10 km ETRS89 LAEA Europe grid scale (Kaczensky et al. 2021).
Dinaric-Balkan Wolf
There are around 4000 wolves in the Dinaric-Balkan population
Dinaric lynx and Balkan lynx
There are around 120-130 lynx in the Dinaric lynx population and only 50 individuals of the Balkan lynx focused in North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo1 and Montenegro.
Population status
There are around 120-130 lynx in the Dinaric lynx population and only 50 individuals of the Balkan lynx focused in North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo1 and Montenegro.
| Country | Bear Estimate | Bear Trend | Wolf Estimate | Wolf Trend | Lynx Estimate | Lynx Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | *180-200 | Stable nationally | *200-250 | Stable | (5-10) | Stable with tendency decreasing |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | *1000-1200 | Slightly increasing | 400-600 | Stable or declining | *80-90 | - |
| Croatia | 846-1072 | Stable | 163 | Decreasing or stable | 85-90 | Stable or increasing |
| Kosovo¹ | *80-100 | - | *100 | - | *(6) | - |
| Montenegro | *423 | - | *592 | - | *(0) | - |
| North Macedonia | *333-381 | Stable or increasing | *400-1100 | Slight declining- | (32) | Stable- |
| Serbia | *100 | Increasing | *800-900 | Stable or increasing slightly | *40-60 | Stable |
| Slovenia | 700-900 | Increasing | 104-129 | Increasing | 29 | - |
Figures given in 2021 (* = estimate not verified, for lynx () = subpopulation Balkan lynx, “-“ = no data) (Marsden et al. 2022).
1 For this initiative, Kosovo is referred to in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.