Thanks to satellite images, it is possible to predict when bears are running low on food. When this happens, the risk of them attacking apiaries increases by up to 13 times. The findings of scientists from the Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences and German researchers are expected to help beekeepers protect their hives.

In autumn, brown bears like to feed on high-energy beech nuts. These allow the bears to build up fat reserves before winter. The availability of these nuts varies depending on the year in question. When yields are low, bears find it difficult to provide themselves with food. Therefore, they have to look for substitutes. According to a study in the Carpathian Mountains, in years of scarcity, they may attack apiaries more often to feed on calorific honey.

The researchers started looking for methods to predict this phenomenon. For this, they used modern satellite links of forest productivity measurements. They combined these with meteorological data and ground-based measurements of beechnut production over a 14-year period. On this basis, they estimated when few will be produced, causing more damage to the apiaries. 

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https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rse2.302