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There were about 4,000-5,000 brown bears (Ursus arctos) on the Scandinavian Peninsula around 1850; 65% were in Norway, which had the densest population. Apparently because of overexploitation, numbers declined rapidly until about 1930, when the brown bear was virtually extinct in Norway and about 130 were left in the 4 isolated populations that survived in Sweden. After 1930, the population began to increase after stringent protection. There are now about 700 bears in Scandinavia, with about 2% in Norway. Although the forests of Scandinavia have been totally changed by intensive, large-scale forestry, harvest pressure still seems to be the major factor affecting the population. Managers have an obvious need for information to manage this increase in population. They want to know how and where the increase will occur, when it will occur, and what they can do to manage it. Currently we are studying (1) population dynamics and dispersal to learn about mechanisms and patterns of increase and (2) relationships between bears and people, domestic sheep, and moose (Alces alces). We have found that females recolonize areas much more slowly than males, so the expansion wave front is steep for females and much flatter for males. The result is female areas with a high density of bears surrounded by areas with relatively low density. Outside the expanding front of females, the population is dominated by males (about 85%), predominately subadults or young adults (i.e., dispersing individuals). Mean home ranges of adult males are much larger in the peripheral areas (7,760 km2) than in the female areas (1,530 km2). Brown bears in Scandinavia seem to present little threat to people. Preliminary data suggest a low predation rate on adult moose, but a higher rate on calves. The greatest management challenge of the increasing bear population is depredations on the 2.2 million unattended domestic sheep on open range in Norway. These issues will become more important also in other areas as we are more successful in saving bear populations.