Anna Filipowska, University of Agriculture in Krakow

Tatra National Park (TPN, 211 km²), located in southern Poland, lies at the north-western edge of the Western Carpathian brown bear population. Between 2012 and 2022, tourism pressure in TPN doubled to over 4.5 million visitors annually, making it one of the most intensively visited protected areas in Europe. Under such conditions, visitor behaviour directly affects both human safety and bear management outcomes.
We analysed questionnaire surveys conducted among visitors in 2012 and 2022 (N = 526) to examine changes in bear-related knowledge, behavioural intentions, and management preferences. Using chi-square tests and logistic regression models, we compared responses between years and identified predictors of support for removal-based management, including lethal control of problem individuals or population reduction measures.
Over the decade, knowledge regarding bear ecology, conservation status, and appropriate behaviour during encounters declined, while support for removal-based management increased. Importantly, perceived danger was not a significant predictor of management preference. Instead, support for removal-based management was associated with limited knowledge of and adherence to recommended environmental practices, including misunderstanding of encounter guidelines and park regulations. Visitors who indicated inappropriate responses to hypothetical bear encounters were more than six times as likely to support removal-based management.
In highly visited mountain protected areas, insufficient visitor preparedness may increase the likelihood of risky encounters, potentially triggering management interventions affecting individual bears. Strengthening visitor competence should therefore be considered an integral component of bear management under conditions of overtourism.