The brown bear (Ursus arctos) in the Eastern Polissia in Ukraine: evidence of the species' recovery in the region

The article describes a new record of the species in Sumy Oblast, in the zone of dense forests near the state border of Ukraine. The information was obtained from military colleagues who observed a female bear with a cub in a thermal imaging camera, which is evidence of not only of the species' presence, but also its reproduction and successful wintering. The observation was made on 4 May 2025 in Shostka Raion, in the area between Khutir-Mykhailivskyi and the state border. Other records of the species east of the Dnipro River are analysed, including the discovery of two skulls from the Starohutsky forestry (1960), a find of bear excrements near Stara Huta (1990), hunted bears in the north of Sumy Oblast on the border with Bryansk Oblast (2002–2003), the occurrence of a female with a cub in Novopskov Raion of Luhansk Oblast (2004), the discovery of tracks in the snow in the Desniansko-Starohutsky National Nature Park (2012), and a video recording of a bear in a felling in the same national park (2020). All finds are associated with uninhabited areas and indicate constant ‘attempts’ of the species to restore its range in this region.