Play a role in the conservation of bears in Europe.

The Tatras Mountains form the western border of the region these wonderful creatures inhabit. They have been pushed to the brink of extinction by the encroachment of man into their habitat. This is your opportunity to perform vital monitoring work, which includes a ground-breaking census of the bears.

The chamois (mountain goat)  in the area are also endangered and a census of their population is currently also underway.

Please note that the volunteering is physically arduous and you need to be in good physical condition, as it involves a lot of trekking up and down mountains. It is not recommended for children under 13.

Suggested Itinerary

Arrive Poprad and get orientated. The following afternoon you make an excursion to the beautiful historic town of Levoca.

On the third morning you head into the jagged Tatra Mountains, to start your fascinating large carnivore research and conservation project. Drive and walk the valley floors, away from tourists, in search for wildlife, bears, wolves, chamois, red and roe deer as well as birds of prey. In the evening you review the project bear data to gain a better understanding of their behaviour. New knowledge in hand you make an early start. It is time to track down the bears, in order to observe and study their behaviour.

For the final two days of your time making a difference, you head back into the wilderness to assist with the vital task of monitoring the endangered Tatra Chamois.

You then have a rest day to soak up your surroundings (Optional: panoramic flight over the mountains where you have been doing your studies and other conservation work), and the following day is spent enjoying a scenic walk. The next day there are tours of the quaint villages of Levoca, Spisske Podhradie as well as the imposing Spis Castle.

After ten days this fascinating experience comes to a close and you leave this beautiful part of the world knowing you have helped to conserve two endangered species.

Please note that the volunteering is physically arduous and you need to be in good physical condition, as it involves a lot of trekking up and down mountains. It is not recommended for children under 13.

Safety

You will be in bear country, but the risk of attack is minimal. These animals senses are far keener than ours and unlike brown bears in North America and Siberia these European animals are far more scared of humans due to consistent persecution over many hundreds of years. In a thousand cases in Sweden they have approached bears deliberately to test the reaction, in 999 cases the bears fled. In Slovakia the only instances of bears attacking humans have come when someone effectively walked into one unknowingly, usually whilst collecting wood or mushrooms. In these instances it was generally a swat before running off.

This scenario will not happen due to the expert guiding of the project team and the National park Rangers. If you are lucky to see a mother with cubs at close range we will act in a way that is not intimidating to her or her cubs and we will exit the situation in a calm manner.

Bears are not territorial animals in the classic sense of the word.

We do not carry guns, nor do we carry pepper spray as we think that these are unnecessary items given our experience and the way that we explore the bear rich areas.

To put this into context, the national park rangers are in the mountains virtually everyday, off tourist trails, in the dark forests and on animal trails. Not one of these rangers has had a threatening experience.