**3.1 Telemetry protocol**

Over a three 3 year bear monitoring period (2007-2009) during the project's second phase, field work has focused on satellite telemetry combined to systematic collection of bear signs of presence and activity. An additional monitoring protocol was developed using thermosensitive, IR and conventional pre-programmed video and photo cameras.

In total twenty two (22) adult and sub-adult brown bears have been fitted with GPS/GSM radiocollars: eighteen (15) males and seven (7) females. Bears were trapped from April to mid May and from September to mid-October in 2007 and 2008 within a buffer zone of 10 kilometres along the Egnatia Highway stretch 4.1 (routing from "Grevena to Metsovo"). We captured bears using Aldrich foot snares (Johnson and Pelton 1980) and immobilized bears with a zolazepam-tiletamine /medetomidine combination and reversed with atipamezole (Riegler et al. 2009). Body measurements were recorded and a premolar was extracted to determine bear age (Stoneberg and Jonkel 1966).

Photo 11., 12., 13. and 14. Bears equiped with radio-collars – radio-collars types: Simplex, Tellus GSM

Bears were fitted with Televilt/Followit Simplex, Tellus, Tellus GSM and Tensyx GPS collars with remote drop-offs. GPS collars were fitted with devices such as VHF transmitter, mortality -activity sensors and were programmed to record a location every 60 minutes. During the denning period we programmed each GPS-receiver to obtain a location fix twice a day. For Simplex and Tellus collars data were remotely downloaded from the ground four times monthly using a RX-900 Receiver (Televilt TVP Positioning AB, Lindesberg, Sweden). Tellus/GPS-GSM collars worked via cell phone coverage and data were downloaded through internet every 8 hours via Televilt-Followit server.
