People of Pelješac are hospitable folk, used to wanting to give their best to their guests. But, there are some guests they are not really used to, and a bear on Pelješac is one of those!
The “visited” beehives (actually ruined) were the first sign that an unexpected beast has made his or her way to Pelješac. Near Putniković, Toni Rusković told HRT reporters that he has seven beehives on Wednesday, and on Saturday all of them have been broken into and ruined. Ivo Đuračić from the Hunting Association of Kuna says that the bear has probably spent the whole sweet night by the hives, getting almost all of the honey out of them.
Wild boars and European mouflons are often seen on Pelješac, and the population of jackals is very stable and they can often be seen and heard, but a bear is something that no-one remembers seeing on Pelješac before. Although, hunters add that it could spend a lot of time in a specific location without being noticed, as it avoids humans and their dwellings, and there’s plenty of food around for him/her. If only it weren’t for that sweet seductive honey, which gave him away.
A couple of days after the incident in Putniković, (s)he was recorded by a hunter’s camera just a couple of kilometres away. Some people claim that it’s a mama bear with her cubs, although, having done my research, I’m not quite sure how that story got started. And a few more days after that, another beehive incident occurred in Brijesta – which is not surprising, because bears do have a large area where they like to roam around.
The hunters have written to the people in charge of the Agriculture Ministry, waiting for their instructions on what to do with the bear. Hopefully, it will be peacefully moved to a more bear-acquainted part of Croatia, although one would really love the bear to have the chance to taste some of those amazing Pelješac grapes and figs, which will be perfect for consumption sometime in late August. It’s not certain how the bear got to Pelješac, although it’s possible it just swam over. After all, the bridge isn’t finished yet, and will probably never be really bear-friendly!
