The Notranjska region is home to all three beasts found in Slovenia – wolf, lynx and bear.
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) population in Slovenia is stable. The estimated number of bears, in the spring of 2020, was 990 individuals. They are usually solitary animals, not territorial, so several of them can often live in the same area. In Slovenia, the largest number of bears live in Notranjska and Kočevje region, in the pristine vast forests.
With the Bear watching experience, we want to present brown bear as a charismatic large predator, an important natural heritage and a part of pristine nature and an indispensable part of the ecosystem. This experience allows you to meet, see and photograph the bear from the safe haven of the hide.
About the Bear watching experience:
Visitors, accompanied by a hunter, go to one of the hides in the late afternoon. Some hides are equipped with wildlife cameras, so hunters can see where the bears hang out most often and how they behave. Based on this, they choose the most suitable hide. Then visitors sit in the hide in complete silence, waiting for the bear to walk past them. Since bear mostly has a similar routine every day and is used to the area next to the hide, there is a great chance that visitors will see the bear, as long as they are not too loud...
Prices for the Bear watching experience in the year 2022:
1 person: €115.00
2 persons: €170.00
3 persons: €230.00
4 persons: €290.00
children (up to 15 years): €50.00
The experience takes place between April and September. It is most recommended between May and August, when the days are the longest and the probability of a successful observation is the highest.
When it comes to this experience, it should be emphasized that these are wild animals, so no one can guarantee that the observation will be successful. The percentage of successful observations varies from year to year, as it depends on the weather, other visitors in the forest, and above all on the forest harvest (the more bears have food in the forest, the less likely they are to reach the hide and vice versa). If the probability that the Bear wathcing experience would not be successful, we advise against observing it or do not carry it out.
Photo: Žan Črnigoj, LD Grahovo
