Large carnivores are often persecuted due to conflict with human activities, making their conservation in human-modified landscapes very challenging. Conflict-related scenarios are increasing worldwide, due to the expansion of human activities or to the recovery of carnivore populations. In general, brown bears Ursus arctos avoid humans and their settlements, but they may use some areas close to people or human infrastructures. Bear damages in human-modified landscapes may be related to the availability of food resources of human origin, such as beehives. However, the association of damage events with factors that may predispose bears to cause damages has rarely been investigated. We investigated bear damages to apiaries in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain), an area with relatively high density of bears. We included spatial, temporal and environmental factors and damage prevention measures in our analyses, as factors that may influence the occurrence and intensity of damages. In 2006–2008, we located 61 apiaries, which included 435 beehives damaged in the study area (346 km2). The probability of an apiary being attacked was positively related to both the intensity of the damage suffered the year before and the distance to the nearest damaged apiary, and negatively related to the number of prevention measures employed as well as the intensity of the damage suffered by the nearest damage apiary. The intensity of damage to apiaries was positively related to the size of the apiary and to vegetation cover in the surroundings, and negatively related to the number of human settlements. Minimizing the occurrence of bear damages to apiaries seems feasible by applying and maintaining proper prevention measures, especially before an attack occurs and selecting appropriate locations for beehives (e.g. away from forest areas). This applies to areas currently occupied by bears, and to neighbouring areas where dispersing individuals may expand their range.
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机译：大型食肉动物经常由于与人类活动的冲突而遭受迫害，这使其在人工改造景观中的养护非常具有挑战性。由于人类活动的扩大或食肉动物种群的恢复，与冲突有关的情况在全球范围内正在增加。通常，棕熊Ursus arctos会避开人类及其居住区，但它们可能会使用一些靠近人或人类基础设施的区域。人为改变景观中的熊类损害可能与蜂巢等人类食物资源的可获得性有关。但是，很少研究破坏事件与可能导致熊造成破坏的因素的关联。我们调查了坎塔布连山脉（西班牙）的熊对养蜂场的损害，该地区的熊密度相对较高。我们在分析中包括了空间，时间和环境因素以及损害预防措施，这些因素可能会影响损害的发生和强度。在2006–2008年，我们确定了61个蜂房，其中包括研究区域（346 km 2 ）中受损的435个蜂箱。蜂房被袭击的概率与前一年遭受的破坏的强度以及与最近的被破坏的蜂房的距离呈正相关，与采取的预防措施的数量以及遭受的破坏的强度呈负相关。最近的损坏养蜂场。对养蜂场的破坏强度与养蜂场的大小和周围植被的覆盖成正相关，与人类住区的数量成负相关。通过采取并保持适当的预防措施，尤其是在发生袭击之前并为蜂箱选择适当的位置（例如，远离森林地区），将对养蜂场造成的熊损害减至最小似乎是可行的。这适用于当前被熊占据的区域，以及散布个人可能扩大其范围的邻近区域。
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