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Brown bear with a shoulder hump

Reptiles

What should I do if I meet a bear?

Georgia has only the brown bear. Do not approach. If injured, call 112. This page is educational.

Call 112Mammals

Emergency action

A bear nearby? Give it space — if injured, 112

Do not approach, do not feed, do not let a dog go. Cubs mean the mother is nearby. If it has injured you — call 112.

  • Georgia has only the brown bear (Ursus arctos).
  • Do not approach and do not feed. Make noise on the trail so you do not surprise it.
  • A cub means the mother is nearby. Do not let a dog go.
  • If injured, call 112. Do not kill it — EN on the 2014 Red List.
Emergency help112

These are educational first steps from the profile and named sources — not a field combat protocol and not a North American play-dead or fight rule.

What to do

What to do if you meet a bear

  1. 01Give it space

    Back away slowly. Do not approach for a photo or to drive it off.

  2. 02Make noise on the trail

    Sound lowers the chance of a surprise meeting — especially a mother with cubs or an animal on a carcass.

  3. 03Hold the dog

    Do not let it go. A dog can bring a bear back to people.

  4. 04Keep food secured

    Camp food should be closed. Feeding brings the animal back and raises conflict.

  5. 05If injured, call 112

    112 is Georgia's single emergency number. Do not wait until it sorts itself out.

What not to do

What not to do

  1. Do not approach

    It is a large animal: it can bite or strike if you meet it by surprise.

  2. Do not feed it

    Feeding trains conflict. Beehive and livestock loss is real in some villages — especially around Borjomi-Kharagauli — that does not mean the bear hunts people.

  3. Do not let a dog go

    A chase brings the bear back. Hold the dog or withdraw with it.

  4. Do not import North American rules

    Play dead or fight a grizzly is not a protocol here. Georgia has no other bear species.

  5. Do not kill it

    Hunting is not allowed. Decree No. 190 of 2014 lists the species as EN.

Risk

When is a meeting especially concerning?

Every close meeting asks for space. Below are situations with higher risk.

  • A mother with cubs — a cub can look like a dog from a distance; the mother is nearby.
  • A surprise meeting at a carcass or a den.
  • A dog chase that brings the bear back to people.
  • Injury — then 112, not a home method.

Georgia

Which bear is here?

Only the brown bear. Polar and American black bears do not occur here. Lortkipanidze 2010 names three areas: the Greater Caucasus, the Lesser Caucasus, and the extreme east — including Vashlovani. Other mammals are on the mammals hub.

This page does not map administrative regions. Do not look for it on open lowland as a usual place.

Atlas

The bear in this atlas

Below is 1 species — the brown bear. Full list: mammal index.

MammalsSpecies index

Sources

What this page is based on

Encounter advice cites named sources and the atlas profile. The site is not a medical or field service.

External sources

Biology (Reptiles.ge)

  • Brown bear profile

    Range, status, and short encounter rules on the atlas page — not a field combat guide.

  • Editorial interpretation

    Page structure is prepared by Reptiles.ge from the sources above.

Related guides

Continue with related pages

Identification, range, safety, and species indexes — stay in the same topic instead of returning to the homepage.

Catalog

Mammal species

Published atlas profiles in a table. Not a full mammal list.

Index
Practice

A jackal in the yard

Do not feed. Secure food and poultry. Call 112 after a bite.

Yard guide

FAQ

Meeting a bear — frequently asked questions

Short answers. Depth lives on the profile.

Give it space, do not approach, do not feed, do not let a dog go. If injured, 112.

Neither is a protocol on this page. Those are North American tips for another context. Here: back away, do not approach.

No. Only the brown bear. Polar and American black bears do not occur here.

Loss of hives and livestock is real in some villages, especially around Borjomi-Kharagauli. That is conflict, not hunting people.

No. It is EN on the Red List (Decree No. 190, 2014). Hunting is not allowed.

Call 112. This page is educational and does not replace a clinician.

Next step

After a meeting — the atlas

The profile is for status and range. In a meeting the first rule is space; if injured, 112.

MammalsAll species