The bear population of Finland has increased rapidly over the last few years. More and more beekeepers have to prepare for the risk of a bear visiting their apiaries, i.e. sets of beehives. The state-sponsored way of preparation is to surround your hives with an electric fence. However, the effectiveness of the fences in preventing bear damages and the workload added by their maintenance to the beekeepers’ work routine remain unknown.
Kasper is currently investigating how often bears visit fenced apiaries and how often the fences curb bear efforts to satisfy their hunger for honey. He also aims to investigate whether sites in different environments face a higher risk of bear damages, and if certain types of bears are more likely to visit apiaries. Kasper shared his preliminary finding that the fences seem to be an effective way to reduce bear damages, but they require further development to plug key gaps in function.
Mirjam’s thesis work focusses on how beekeepers view bears, how keepers protect their apiaries from bears, and how much work does this protection entail. Mirjam shared her findings from interviews and a questionnaire to the beekeepers about their experiences with bears and preparing for bear visits. Views towards the main method of apiary protection, the electric fences, were mixed: the fences are seen as vital in areas with a high bear population, but improvements to the fence design and the development of added protections are necessary.
"The research conducted by the GCC lab at participating apiaries is crucial for our union. We have wanted to investigate these issues for a long time, but we have not had the resources to do it ourselves. According to a Spring 2026 questionnaire, 20 % of beekeepers are forced to use electric fences because of the bear risk. This creates a lot of added workload and causes considerable damage to our livelihoods." - Anneli Salonen, Research Coordinator at the Finnish Beekeepers Union
Kasper and Mirjam thank the Finnish Beekeepers Union and participating beekeepers for their collaboration that makes this research possible. This conference gave many new ideas for future research and the development of practical solutions to improve human-bear coexistence.