Among all wild animals Swedes are most scared of meeting a bear. This is the conclusion of a poll made by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences for mapping out peoples' attitudes to big wild animals. Four polls have been made so far in the 21st century. The results show that almost half of all Swedes between 16 and 65 years of age are scared of bears. In 1980 the situation was different. Then Swedes were most scared of moose, but not at all as scared as people are today of bears. Wild boars are perceived as the second most dangerous animals and wolves are in third place. Fear of wild boars has increased considerably; one Swede out of three is scared of meeting a boar but in 1980 the corresponding figure was only 1 %.
The reply to the question whether hunting is an acceptable manner for reducing the number and distribution of carnivores was unanimous, irrespective of whether the person in question lived in the Stockholm province or in one of the provinces where the poll was made. All those who replied were of the opinion that hunting is acceptable when
• carnivores appear in densely populated areas,
• there is a risk of domestic animals being taken,
• to some extent because people are scared.
The present bear population is not less than 3200, wolves not less than 210, moose not less than 300.000 and approximately 150.000 wild boars.