Brown bear

Romania has the largest bear population in Europe. Romania's bear population exceeds 4,500 animals. It is the largest carnivorous in the Carpathians, known, on good reason, as the "King of the Carpathian woodland". The bear area stretches along the Carpathian arch, in hilly and mountain areas, but it can be found at altitudes starting with 500 - 600 meters up to 1200 meters.

Romania holds the world record for that species both for fur and the skull, with registered 687,79 CIC points for skin and 69,47 CIC points for the skull. Romania also holds the next 10 trophies in the world for skin, with a total of 362 gold medals. Most frequent trophies in Romania are those of 350 - 400 CIC points. The weight of an adult sturdy bear exceeds often 300 - 350 kg. It may also reach 450 kg.

Hunting is practiced as: drive hunt, beat hunt and stalking. Beat hunt is organized in the autumn, when the animals gather around the abundant feeding places; beaters and dogs are used.

The optimum hunting period is October 01 - November 15.
Recommended caliber is of minimum 7 mm, up to high calibers of 9 and over 9 mm.