Brown Bear a Symbol of Past and Present

The brown bear subject has been characterized lately by an increased level of research complexity. Inside current article the brown bear will benefit from a broader assessment of its modern history and representation, showing that it can be understood as a symbol over time. The historical representation will be related to the evaluation of the existing literature, offering a multitude of mythological and folklore meanings, starting from King Ragnar to the Bear Dance, proving the animal was present in the daily life of people from different parts of the world. Through the details displayed, the meanings of bear will be understood, showing the value of this symbol in history. This is similar to the presence of the constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear) among the other stars in the sky.

Contemporarily it will be seen that the perception has changed today and what was previously deified is now stigmatized and brutalized. According to a survey conducted in Covasna and Brașov counties, 52% of the respondents expressed fear of bears, with 19% saying that they feel terrorized by them. As a result, people from Romania and from other countries use both non-lethal and lethal measures to solve possible conflicts with bears. In the Central Region of Romania, 220 preventive actions were taken from 2021 to 2022 to keep bears away from human settlements. Between 2017 and 2022, 4.405 phone calls were made to the 112 National Emergency Service reporting the presence of bears, while 154 bears were found dead for unknown reasons.