<\/p>\n Farmer Anastasios Kasparidis stands outside his sheep pen with his three dogs in Levea village, northern Greece, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, days after a bear attack killed three of his sheep. (AP Photo\/Giannis Papanikos)<\/p>\n Farmer Anastasios Kasparidis stands outside his sheep pen with his three dogs in Levea village, northern Greece, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, days after a bear attack killed three of his sheep. (AP Photo\/Giannis Papanikos)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Bears, wolves and boars<\/p>\n Brown bears, Greece\u2019s largest predator, have made a remarkable comeback. Their numbers have increased roughly fourfold since the 1990s, said Dimitris Bakaloudis, a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki who specializes in wildlife management and conservation.<\/p>\n Up to an estimated 870 brown bears roam the forests of northern Greece, according to the most recent survey by Arcturos, an environmental organization set up in 1992 that provides a sanctuary for rescued bears and wolves.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just bears. Wolves also have seen their numbers rise. While wolves could only be found as far south as central Greece in 2010, they have now spread to the outskirts of Athens and into the Peloponnese in southern Greece, Bakaloudis said.<\/p>\n Their recovery has been sustained in part by the also increasing population of wild boars, which is unrelated to conservation efforts. Rather, a combination of a number of factors, including a reduction of hunting, milder winters and cross-breeding with domestic pigs have led them to reproduce at a faster rate, Bakaloudis explained. <\/p>\n Viewed by many as pests that destroy crops, the sight of a dozen or more boars trotting along sidewalks or snuffling through backyards are no longer uncommon in many parts of Greece. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two brown bears playfully wrestle inside the Arcturos sanctuary in Nymfaio, northern Greece, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Giannis Papanikos)<\/p>\n Two brown bears playfully wrestle inside the Arcturos sanctuary in Nymfaio, northern Greece, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Giannis Papanikos)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Increasing human encounters<\/p>\n The larger number of wild animals has also resulted in more contact with humans \u2014 the vast majority of whom are unfamiliar with how to behave during an encounter. Lack of familiarity has led to fear in some communities, particularly following a small number of serious incidents this year: a child bitten by a wolf, an elderly man injured by a bear in his yard, a hiker bitten by a bear and another hiker who died after falling into a ravine during a bear encounter.<\/p>\n In Levea, a village of about 660 people surrounded by fields in northwestern Greece, several bear encounters were reported in October, while boars frequently roam through the village, said community president Tzefi Papadopoulou. The bears especially had frightened residents.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as they heard a dog bark, they were ready to go out with the gun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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