Protective strips do not reduce the damage to crops, and so the offer of high-protein food on these strips, which increases reproduction rates among wild boar, should be discontinued. Reduction in the level of damage can only be achieved by a radical reduction in numbers of wild boar.

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The diet of brown bear Ursus arclos Linnaeus, 1758 in the autum n of 1990 and the spring of 1991 was studied by the analysis of faeces contents (46 sam ples, 23 from au tu m n and 23 from spring). Based on frequency of occurrence of food items in individual faeces, the autum n diet of bears was more diverse than the spring diet. W e calculated for each food item frequency percent (F% ), dry weight percent (W % ) and Importance Value (IV % ). Beech Fagus silvatica nuts were the most important food during both spring and autumn (3 6 .9 % IV in autum n and 7 8 .5 % IV in spring). Carrion, used as a bait by hunters, and foodstuffs from gam e-feeding stations (maize, oats, beets) also appeared to be a significant part of the bears' diet.

In Europe, brown bear Ursus arctos habitats frequently overlap with human settlements and infrastructure. We tested whether anthropogenic structures played an important role in habitat selection by brown bears in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland. We analysed 668 signs of brown bear presence recorded during 6 counts along 246 km of transects (total 1,476 km) in spring, summer and autumn of 1993 and 1994. Habitat selection of bears was more related to habitat and altitude than to human factors. Avoidance of roads, settlements and forest clearings influenced habitat selection by brown bears in spring but less in summer and autumn.

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