Brown bears
3 places to see and hear brown bears in the wild, in 3 countries from Slovenia to Spain: when each one peaks, where to go on your own, what it costs and what you will hear. Wild animals only, no zoos.
Best time, place by place
| Spectacle | Country | Peak | On your own? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown bears from forest hides, Kočevsko | Slovenia | 15 May – 15 Jul | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
| Brown bears and wolves, Gorski kotar and Velebit | Croatia | 15 May – 15 Jul and 15 Aug – 15 Oct | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
| Cantabrian mountains: chamois rut, bears and wallcreepers | Spain | 20 Oct – 30 Nov and 15 Apr – 15 Jun and 15 Aug – 30 Sep | You can go on your own |
Where to go, north to south
Brown bears from forest hides, KočevskoBears are mostly quiet: heavy footfalls in beech litter, sniffing, huffing and jaw-popping when nervous, cubs squalling, mating-season moans; the surrounding evening chorus (wood warbler, Ural owl at dusk, red deer) is the real soundscape.
Brown bears and wolves, Gorski kotar and VelebitBear footfalls, huffs and jaw-popping close to a hide; wolf packs howling across karst dolines in late summer; dormice and Ural owls at night; the Lika plateau is one of the quietest places in southern Europe.
Cantabrian mountains: chamois rut, bears and wallcreepersChamois whistling alarms and clattering hooves on limestone, alpine chough flocks, wallcreeper thin whistles from the gorge walls, bells and the Cares river; bears are silent and distant.