Shifting attitudes toward brown bears in Bulgaria: A longitudinal and regional analysis

Longitudinal research on public attitudes toward large carnivores is scarce, limiting our understanding of how human-wildlife coexistence evolves. This study aimed to bridge this gap by replicating a 2012 survey on attitudes toward brown bears (Ursus arctos) in four bear-populated regions of Bulgaria. Shifts in attitudes were analysed between 2012 and 2022 using data from 200 participants, and the influence of socio-demographic and regional variables was explored. Results revealed a significant positive shift in public attitudes since 2012, and decreased support for lethal control. However, persistent regional differences remain, with the Rhodopes region exhibiting significantly higher negative attitudes. The disparity is not explained by bear population density but likely by a combination of factors including landscape characteristics that increase human-bear interaction, the lack of protected nature areas, higher levels of reported bear damage, perceived increase in human-wildlife co..., , # Shifting attitudes toward brown bears in Bulgaria: A longitudinal and regional analysis

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.37pvmcw0t](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.37pvmcw0t)

## Description of the data and file structure

The data was collected from towns and villages located in the 4 main bear-populated regions of Bulgaria - The Central Balkan mountain range, the Rila mountain, Pirin mountain and the Western Rhodopes mountains using a questionnaire approach.

### Files and variables

* **A2.1:** \"Bears are important\" (1 = Fully disagree to 5 = Fully agree)
* **A2.8:** \"Bears are an important component of the ecosystem\" (1–5 Likert)
* **A2.10:** \"Having bears in the region I live in is positive\" (1–5 Likert)
* **A14:** \"How do you feel about projects aimed at brown bear conservation?\" (1 = Very negatively to 5 = Very positively)
* **A20:** \"What are your views toward bears?\" (1 = Very negative to 5 = Very positive)
* **Bear Acceptance:** Composite scale — mean of A2.1, A2.8, A2.10, A14, A2..., This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Upon consultation with the Ethics Committee of Wageningen University, no ethical approval was required, given the non-sensitive nature of the work and the fact that it was conducted as part of graduate research.

Participation was voluntary. All participants were informed about the purpose of the research and provided verbal informed consent prior to participation, including consent for article publication and associated data.

No personally identifiable information was collected for the study. The questionnaire did not record participants' names, contact details, addresses, or other direct identifiers. Responses regarding geographic location were collected and analysed at the regional level only; fine-scale locality data are included in the deposited dataset. As a result, individual participants cannot be identified from the published data.,