“I Couldn’t Believe It”: Hidden Camera Captures Unexpected Return of a Decade-Classic Genre

For the first time in decades, a a brown bear gave birth to puppies in Lithuania. Wildlife cameras captured the mother and cubs in a forest in the north-west of the country, marking the first confirmed reproduction of the species on Lithuanian soil in generations.

Laimonas Daukša, director of the Lithuanian Hunters and Fishermen’s Association, told local media. Made in Vilnius that because of this birth, the bears living in Lithuania will now be added to the national ones The Red Book of protected species. “As far as I know, according to the current system, only breeding species can be included in it, so we have the first bear cub that opened a new page in this book,” said Daukša.

The development reverses a long-standing official position. The IUCN Red List still classifies the brown bear as “It’s over” Lithuania, a name based on the loss of citizens of that country decades ago due to overhunting and loss of residence. The birth of puppies suggests that the situation may no longer reflect reality.

Trail Cameras Captured a Big Bear Last Weeks

Cub sightings came close after another bear incident. In April 2025, a wildlife photographer named Marek Kislovsky checked one of his road cameras in Šalčininkai district, near the border with Belarus. He found a picture of a full-grown brown bear walking in the forest.

“When I went to look at the camera, I couldn’t believe what I saw at first,” Kislovskij said. LRT.lt. I was very surprised that I won such a gun, and I was very happy.

Until then, he said, he had never heard of bear sightings or tracks in Šalčininkai district. The camera was placed near Gerviškės, near the border with Belarus, on March 31.

The source of returning bears is Estonia

The bears that now appear in Lithuania do not come from anywhere. According to Harri Valdmann, assistant professor of zoology at the University of Tartu, the number of bears in Estonia has increased to approx. 1,000 animalsthe highest level in more than a century.

Valdmann told ERR News: “These habitats make sense. When the population is strong, it spills over into less suitable areas. Now there are more bears, and they come to Latvia, otherwise if the numbers are low.

Latvia has not seen a new number of bears. Its local bears were hunted to extinction in the late 1920s. Valdmann noted that although bears from Estonia sometimes wander into Latvia, the population has not been affected because the population of Estonia, although large, is not yet dense enough to maintain sufficient distance to the south.

Public Opinion in Lithuania is Consolidated

A 2012 study published in Ursus magazine surveyed about 3,800 residents of northwestern Lithuania. Studies show that the acceptance of returning bears is not guaranteed. This study is the latest peer-reviewed survey of Lithuanian attitudes towards brands.

Education has found that 82.4% of those who responded said they would fear for the safety of their families if bears lived in the forests of the area. Most of the respondents said they would not accept bears within 10 kilometers of their homes. On average, 60 to 70% of respondents rejected bears at that distance.

Rural residents they were more likely to support population control or total extermination. Urban residents generally favored increased bear numbers. Berry and mushroom pickers, who spend a lot of time in the forests, were among the strongest opponents of the increasing number of bears. The survey also found that 22.5% of respondents want action to be taken against bears even if the animals live far from residential areas.

The World Population Is Still Large

The return of the brown bear to Lithuania is a local phenomenon, not a global conservation crisis. The IUCN Red List classifies species as “Worst Worry” worldwide, approx 110,000 mature people across North America, Europe and Asia. Population trends are listed as stable.

The IUCN assessment, last updated in 2016, states that bears have periodically crossed into Lithuania from Latvia and Belarus. The report describes these children as vagrants, not good enough to be considered a place to live. The recent birth of cubs suggests that the threshold is approaching.

The official species map still lists Lithuania as “Exclusive.” That name now does not match what the trail cameras recorded. The IUCN recognizes that small, isolated populations such as those in the Baltic States are always at risk, as are global species.