Bear Country

This is bear country.  Do you know how I know?  The signs by the side of the road show a bear.  Animal traffic signs usually alert us to look out for an animal on the road.  If you are in the US you don't want to hit a deer, and similarly with cows in Bosnia.  We are not so much worried about the animal, but with the damage to us and our vehicle.

When I saw this sign in Brazil I found myself wanting to slow down, stop the car and make sure I saw a capybara. As well as protecting the large rodent, which for some reason chooses to live in the state capital, the sign also makes them a tourist attraction.

I was confused by the signs for wild boar in Croatia.  There were obviously no boar to be seen near the road.  I was quite disappointed.  What was the population of feral pigs in Croatia? I discovered that it is quite healthy and the numbers are beginning to be a problem for farmers as they damage crops.  This has led to the growth of organized boar hunting for tourists.  I'm not sure if the road signs are predicting the large numbers overrunning the country roads, or if they are advertising the boar to visiting hunters.

The bear signs in northern Greece were equally confusing... and not just because I can't read Greek.  There were times when performing bears traveled this region and they could be seen on the streets of Sofia when I lived here in the 90's.  A reliable witness even spotted one riding a tram downtown.

But no bears have been seen in the wild for many years.  Are the signs warning us of bear attacks?  Or are they warning of a sloth of bears that have taken up residence near the road?  These signs have become a family joke and we entertain ourselves with bear stories as we drive through the beauty of Greece.
In truth, there are only about 150 bears left living in northern Greece, and there is a active concern to save them.  Traditionally they have worried the farmer's livestock and taken their honey.  This is a big honey producing area and bears will destroy the hives to get at the honey.  The farmers could be scaring the bears away, but they are quick to blame the building of all the new highways like the Egnatia Odos completed in 2009.  The road company quickly covered themselves by putting up the bear signs.  Motorists are now responsible if they hit a bear.

So now I know that the signs are a joke.  The highways are destroying the bears natural habitat and shrinking their homeland. The signs on the highway draw attention to the disappearing animal, seldom seen because of the diminishing numbers.  Motorists needn't slow down because there are no bears left to run into.  Once the road was built, the problem can't be fixed with a sign.