Dimitris Despas says Greece’s bear showdown has reached his doorstep in Kleisoura, east of Kastoria. At home, the retired furrier said bears have come into house yards, damaged property and eaten fruit off trees, leaving him afraid to leave his home after a bear was seen in the village central square at dusk a few days earlier.
Despas also said, “The bears have surrounded us. They come into the house yards, cause damage, eat the fruit off the trees,” and added, “A few days ago, a bear was roaming here in the village's central square at dusk. Another animal injured a fellow villager, thankfully only lightly. We're now afraid to leave our homes,”
Kastoria complaints and 900 bears
The complaints have been piling up alongside the numbers. Greek authorities counted 900 brown bears in a 2025 survey in Western Macedonia, almost twice the figure from the previous survey six years earlier, while forestry services in Kastoria prefecture received over 300 complaints from citizens about bears in residential areas between 2025 and last month. More than 2,000 people in the Kastoria area joined a Facebook group called 'Not living with bears'.
Dimitris Mitsopoulos, who runs the group, said, “We are in danger,” and, “The bears are in the wrong place. They are wild beasts; they are not pets for us to be able to say that we live together.” He also said bears had been photographed outside schools while children were inside, a detail that has widened the dispute from damage to the feeling of safety around homes and schoolyards. In this same showdown, a separate bear focus is forming in the broader conversation around the region, from a Lynx Vs Sun showdown to other high-profile matchups that show how quickly a single word can travel across very different stories.
Western Macedonia in June
Three bears were found dead in Western Macedonia in June over two days. Two of the bears had gunshot wounds, and one, named Circe, apparently ate poisoned bait. The deaths turned an already bitter local dispute into a darker one, because the same area where residents say bears are entering yards and towns is now also where dead animals are turning up.
Lefteris Zioutis, who works as a contractor in Grevena, said, “There are more than 10 bears moving about around our town, frequently entering urban areas,” and, “A few days ago, they were wandering near the city's library and cinema.” Zioutis also said, “Because of the increase in the population, people are now very disturbed. Damage is being done to farmers, livestock breeders and beekeepers,” and said he has photographed more than 100 different bears since early 2025. His account, and the complaints in Kastoria and Grevena, point to a region where residents are describing the same animals as both growing closer and harder to live with.
Callisto and preventive measures
Iason Bantios, a spokesperson for Callisto, said animal damage to crops and livestock “is a longstanding issue” and said “with proper information and preventive and deterrent measures, the phenomenon of bears approaching inhabited areas can be drastically reduced.” That leaves the practical question hanging over Western Macedonia in June: who killed the three bears found dead, and whether any investigation or management step follows, while residents in Kleisoura, Kastoria and Grevena keep dealing with the bears already moving through yards, squares and school areas.
