Noticias en ‘Asturias’
May 9th, 2008
Following a rather sensational article in El Pais, an interesting polemical discussion is currently going on in the Spanish press. The original article centres on the dangers of bears becoming accustomed to human presence and approaching villages and their food sources, such as beehives, with the ensuing possibility of attacks on humans that this could incur. It refrains from mentioning that, in the north of Spain, bears and humans have lived side by side for hundreds of years resulting in no, or very little, danger on the part of the humans. In fact there exists a certain admiration and respect among the people of the Cantabrian mountains for their Ursine neighbours. The article also omits the very important factor of the lack of carrion around (an important part of the bear’s diet) due to the BSE laws enforcing the removal of carcasses from the countryside. Another concern raised is that foreign tour companies, in particular the British wildlife tour company Naturetrek, are endangering the future of the bears by disturbing them in their natural habitat.
Naturetrek deny they cause the bears any disturbance, a spokesman stating that their tours look for bears at a distance using public footpaths, though they don’t guarantee sightings. The Asturian tourist board and ecologist groups are of the opinion that this kind of tourism is endangering the growth and survival of the precarious Cantabrian brown bear population. However, bear specialist organisations and the mayor of Somiedo all envisage a future of guided and regulated wildlife-watching tours contributing to the local economy without disturbing the bears. A delicate balance.
lne.es
Asturias, Cantabrian mountains, Rural tourism, bears | Tags: eco-tourism, Naturetrek, Somiedo|
Aragonese dinosaur hominid and maño by adoption and inclination, Rupert Glasgow has kindly sent me the latest update on Spanish dinosaurs from aragosaurus, this time news of Plesiosaur fossils on the coast of Asturias. Leer
Asturias, Paleontology in Spain | Tags: Cretaceous, dinosaur coast, Dinosaurs, Jurassic Museum of Asturias, Plesiosaur|
The Spanish Brown bear foundation, Fundación Oso Pardo, has released figures of the illegal snare traps its patrols have removed in the Cantabrian mountains. Although the numbers have declined since they started their patrols, the figures are still alarming and continue to be a threat to the bears’ survival. These lethal wire traps are set mostly to trap wild boar and deer that cause damage to crops, though some are laid just for trophies and meat. Of the 1,155 snares discovered, most were found in Asturias. In 2004 the total found amounted to 225 but 2007 saw the figure drop to 67. However, in the area of Ancares, on the borders of Lugo (Galicia), Asturias and León, 130 have been removed in the last 5 years by one of the foundation’s patrols and, in the same area, 63 snares were found in the days between Feb. 27th and the 1st of March this year. These figures are without taking into account the snares removed by Fapas who are also working in this conservation area. It is hoped that continued education and intensive searches will see figures drop further. Sadly, due to the obstacle of not being able to provide proof, most cases go unprosecuted.
According to the newspaper, La Voz de Galicia, there is hope among conservationists (and conservation-minded locals) that the bears will begin to recolonise parts of Galicia.
Comment on this article on the forum
Photo from Fapas
Posted by Lisa
Asturias, Galicia, bears | Tags: Ancares, Fapas, Iberian bears, illegal, snares, traps|
Bears trashing hives in the Valle del Trubia (Fapas)
The number of bears identified in the Trubia valley in Asturias, from Quirós towards Oviedo, has doubled from eight in 2006 to sixteen in 2007. At least three breeding females have been identified who appear to be having few problems raising their cubs, leading to a lower infant mortality rate in this area than in other parts of the Cantabrian mountain chain. An abundance of food in the lower wooded valleys for these opportunistic animals, combined with recent mild winters, have contributed to this success. From Fapas.
(More wild neighbours for the semi-captive female Cantabrian brown bears in the same valley, Paca and Tola, who are presently awaiting a suitor in their new enclosure in Proaza in a plan to test their fertility with a captive male European brown bear from the Cabárceno safari park in neighbouring Cantabria previous to finding a suitable wild, male Cantabrian brown bear.)
By Lisa
Asturias, bears | Tags: breeding, Cantabrian, Trubia|
Busybee of the forum has uploaded this rather nice video of otters feeding and playing in Arriondas, Asturias. The images from the second half (1m:30s) are excellent. Follow the forum thread
Or watch the video full size here
Asturias, On Spain, Otters in Spain, videos | Tags: Arriondas|
Good news. Dead livestock is to be left uncollected in the Picos de Europa for the first time since 2001 when the EU banned the practice due to Mad Cows’ disease. At present some 20,000 dead animals are removed every year from the Spanish countryside which otherwise would have formed part of the food chain. (Fapas)
I am at present unsure as to whether the dead livestock is to be collected in special areas only for carrion birds, or whether, mammals such as brown bears will also be able to benefit. Attacks by bears on fruit trees and beehives have increased dramatically since the ban as carrion forms an essential part of their diet.
Below a bear in Somiedo tucks into a mule (?), exempt from the Mad Cow rule. (Fapas)
See also archive on BSE and wildlife in Spain
Asturias, Livestock, Mad Cow’s disease in Spain, Picos de Europa, bears | Tags: , Somiedo|
In its excellent series on the state of the Spanish coast today El País looks at the coast of Asturias, which thanks to protection, has so far, on the whole, escaped the ravages of tourist development. But 60,000 new homes are planned. Since 1883 it has been illegal to build within 500m of the coastline. El Pais. More on Asturias here
Asturias, Environment, Spanish coast | |
Paca and Tola are two female bears which were orphaned 1989, at the age of four months when a hunter killed their mother and took the two cubs. The cubs were rescued by Fapas and Seprona after a tip-off and now live in semi-captivity in a large mountainside enclosure. Now they are to be mothers.
Photo of Tola and additional research by Lisa of picos-accommodation
The Fundación Oso de Asturias plan to mate them with a another male bear used to captivity in spring 2008, when they come into heat after hibernation. (LNE) The problem is that there is currently no captive male Cantabrian bear, so a bear from another “group” is probably to be used. I use the term “group” as the extistence of Ursus arctos Cantabricus as a separate sub-species is under debate.
The two bears live in a 5000m2 mountainside enclosure and have become a popular tourist attraction and have played a very important role in raising environmental awareness about bears in Asturias. Watch them here . There are references to bears almost every week in the local press and people love talking about them. One has the impression that bears in general and Paca and Tola specifically are quasi-nationalist symbols in Asturias, and much loved…unlike wolves.
Most of the time you can’t see them as their hidden in the rocks, scrub and trees, but they come down at 12:00 am every day to eat. I saw both Paca and Tola taking a bath this August as we all watched on, sweltering outside their enclosuse. The enclosure is in the beautiful Concejo de Trubia. Paca at the end of an excellent cycle path which runs along an old mining railtrack, known as La Senda del Oso. The path (or rather network of paths) runs through tunnels, across bridges and through a spectacular gorge. Reasonably-priced cycle hire is available at each end. They’ve also got cycle with back seats for little kids which is what we used. More here
Read the forum thread on Paca and Tola here
Asturias, Cantabrian mountains, bears | Tags: Fapas, Fundación Oso de Asturias, La Senda del Oso, Paca and Tola, Trubia|
According to Fapas, bears are coming closer and closer to Oviedo in the valle del Trubia. A female bear with cubs has been detected within 8 kilometres of the city’s administrative limits, the first time cubs have been detected in the Trubia for ten years. This central area now seems to comprise three breeding females and is an essential step in joining the two separate bear populations. LNE
Asturias, Mammals, bears | |
I came across this eerie and beautiful photo of Naranjo de Bulnes, the most famous peak of the Picos de Europa on this climbing page.
I also enjoyed the introduction from the same climbing guide:
“It is important to understand what Naranjo de Bulnes means to Spanish Mountaineers. It is our most precious jewel, and the most wanted summit. Every single Spanish mountaineer dreams on the possibility of looking from its summit. The beauty of this mountain is not only in what you look at, is has to do more with the magic of it. When you feel it you understand. It is very difficult to express in words how people feel about it. And all this does not means it has an easy way to reach its top, because it has not. Rock climbing technics and gear is necesary, even in the easiest route on the south face. There are about 70 routes on the mountain, and only a few of them are relalatively easy; the rest are long, difficult and exposed.”
Long, difficult and exposed it may be, but all Spanish climbers are in still awe of the peak’s first ascent. The first to conquer Picu Urriellu was Pedro Pidal, the Marques of Villaviciosa, in the summer of 1904, at a time when the contemporary fashion of the sport added a certain charm to the life of an aristocrat. He was accompanied by Gregorio Pérez acting as a guide, a shepherd from the village of Cain, who was known as ‘El Cainejo’. The gear of the two climbers was made up of a haversack with something to eat and a couple of ropes … The Marques wore gaiters and hunting boots and El Cainejo, espadrilles. One is reminded of the colonial relationship of Sherpa Tenzing and Edmund Hillary. El Cainejo in his espadrilles accompanies the Marques in his boots. Read Naranjo de Bulnes and the beginnings of Spanish conservationism
Asturias, Mountains, Outdoor pursuits in Spain, Picos de Europa | |
Lisa of the iberianature forum has written this excellent piece on the Cantabrian brown bear for the Olive Press with which she begins:
“CANTABRIAN brown bears have developed a slightly different genetic identity to other brown bears, including the European. This is due to the geography of the Iberian peninsula effectively cutting them off from other populations to the North. However, they have not been recognised by the scientific community as a distinct subspecies, being referred to as simply Ursus arctos. Read
Lisa runs this rather nice guesthouse in the Picos. Go there and discuss bears over breakast with her. Photo of Cantabrian bear nabbed from here site.
Asturias, Cantabrian mountains, Mammals, bears | |
I love these photos of the coast of Asturias by Oviedo photographer Iñigo Calles Here below Ría Villaviciosa and Verdicio.
Asturias, Spanish coast, Spanish landcape, photography | |
The Monasterio de San Salvador in Cornellana, Asturias was founded in 1024 by Princess Cristina, daughter of King Bermudo II of Leon, also known as Bermudo el Gotoso (Gout-stricken). The gate into the vegetable garden is decorated with the relief of what is perhaps a female bear breast-feeding a human child. The legend goes that when Cristina was a young girl she got lost in the forest and was saved by a bear which fed and protected her.
Asturias, Spanish Icons, bears, folklore, history | |
I stayed in this lovely house which is part of a working farm on the edge of the Sueve Mountains in Asturias this August and fully recommend it. Cristina and her family are very friendly and knowledgeable about the area and nature in general and pointed out the herd of roe deer which grazed in the back field every evening. They have fresh-farm produce and free-range eggs. Fox and wild boar (which I saw very close up) are common. Barn owl in the chuch tower opposite.
The house lies between the picturesque hamlets of San Román and Villa, the latter with a great bar. The countryside is idyllic with rolling hills, green fields and lovely villages each with their quota of hórreos, and there are wonderful views of the Sierra de Sueve. The blight of eucalyptus is almost absent.
Asturias, Rural tourism | |
Lucy posted this on the forum
“The San Emiliano hostel I stayed in this summer had an interesting book issued by the Diario de Leon: “El Siglo de Leon – todos sus pueblos y sus gentes. Vol. 1” – in fact it’s one of those series of supplements which you can have bound into a book if you collect them all…. The book in general was fascinating - stuffed with old photographs, including some heartbreaking ones of slain bears…..This story concerns an inhabitant of the village Lumajo, 1,360 metres high, in the Somiedo area, in 1860. ”
Here is my quick translation
“Pedro del Potro Riesco was a young man who entered the Army at an early age and by the age of 23 was already a second lieutenant. Returning on leave one day in December, he left his cart in Villaseca and had to walk the last steep 5km to his home. Not long after setting out he realised that there were two wolves following him and when he stopped, they would do the same. He hurried on, but they drew closer and closer, and as he approached the village he he could their tails brush between their legs. Then, just in time, the dogs belonging to Sabugo (a well known lawyer whose family lived in the area) caught the scent of the beasts and set off in pursuit. The young man was able to reach his home, but he was so shocked and scared that he was struck dumb for eight long days. When he finally recovered his speech the following week, he asked his mother for an omelette with eight eggs.
‘It is to give to Sabugo the lawyer’s dogs, for they saved my life.’
For wolf fright, see also Dave mother-in-law’s story from el Bierzo also in León.
Wolves in Somiedo
Asturias, Castilla y León, León, Mammals, Wolves, history | |
I’ve put together this brief account of Asturian cuisine after a two-week trip in August 2007, during which I spent much of my time eating and then recovering from the copious dishes they serve. Read Eating guide to Asturias
Asturias, food | |
Lisa of picos-accommodation has reported on the forum on these lamentable bear deaths in Spain during the summer. Follow the thread on the forum
“Franska, the female bear accused of having killed 150 sheep in the Pyrenees, was killed in a road “accident”" near Lourdes last Thursday (9th) at 6.30am. Her search for territory has ended. Photo below from Fapas. An autopsy has revealed dozens of small calibre gun shot pellets were found in her body dating from weeks before. Her bullet-ridden body is being blamed for her erratic behaviour (farmers blame her for the death of 150 sheep in a couple of months) The autopsy also revealed her age as being 17 and not 7 as the Slovenian authorities had stated.”
“Environment news from consumer.es regards the death as suspicious. Had she been regularly crossing the road at that point I wonder? Of the five Slovenian bears reintroduced to the Pyrenees, there are now three remaining. Another female was found dead at the foot of a cliff not long after being released.”
“Sadly, another dead bear from elmundo.es; A dead bear has been found in a field in the Palentine area of the Cordillera (we were driving in the area yesterday) and tests are being carried out to try and establish the cause. As the photo shows, much of the corpse has been eaten by other animals. The bear was about 20 years old so it could have died of natural causes (on open ground??) although in the last few years, 9 bears have been found dead in this area; 6 poisoned, 2 shot and one cause of death unknown. Possibly, cubs could be added to this list affected by the death of mothers”
Asturias, Mammals, Pyrenees, bears | |
As previously reported on Iberianature, bears, wolves and other wildlife in Spain are seriously threatened by the EU dead livestock ban arising from the BSE outbreak. 8-10 bear cubs are estimated to have died in 2006 because of the ban. Just in Asturias, 210,300 kg of dead meat are now removed every year which before was an essential food source for many animals, despite the fact that not a single case of BSE has been detected in the region. (El Mundo). The issue is currently being taken up by Spanish MEPS in the EU (Fapas)
Bear eating carrion in Asturias (FAPAS) See also Good news for carrion birds + spainbearnews
Asturias, Cantabrian mountains, Mad Cow’s disease in Spain, Mammals, Wolves, bears | |
According to Fapas, bears have returned to the area of Belmonte de Miranda. 18 different animals have been detected in the last two years including 4 breeding females. This area of deep valleys and dense forests is now considered vital to the bear’s conservation in Asturias. The lack of carrion because of the prohibition of leaving dead livestock because of mad cow’s disease means it is difficult for the animals to find enough food leading to problems such as raids on beehives. More here from Fapas
Short video here from Asturias TV. Click on the image
Beehives trashed by bears in Belmonte de Miranda
Asturias, Mad Cow’s disease in Spain, bears | |
Lisa of the iberianature forum has put together this great page on Picos de Europa mammals with some fantastic photos by Carlos Sanz. There are also sections on birds, flora and butterflies.
Photo of a Pyrenean desman
Asturias, Cantabria, Cantabrian mountains, Mammals, Picos de Europa | |
