Posts Tagged ‘Pyrenean bears’
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
It appears that Camille, the last autochthonous Pyrenean bear, may have died, after 9 months without any sign of him. His death at the age of 20 comes as no surprise but is a sad symbol of the disappearance of bears in the range. Now the hope lies in the 20 or so bears which have introduced (or born of introduced animals) in the Pyrenees by the French government from Slovenia. In the photo Camille sits next to the tasty feast of a dead wild boar, somewhere in the Navarran Pyrenees. 20 minutos
This article from Wildlife Extra is also interesting. New research suggests Cantabrian female brown bears do not hibernate while cubs are still young proves anecdotal evidence first recorded many centuries ago.
Tags: Camille the bear, Pyrenean bears
Posted in bears, Mammals, Navarra, Pyrenees | No Comments »
Friday, October 30th, 2009
A new French study has shown that at least 13 bears should be released in the Pyrenees in the near future if the species has any chance of becoming viable.
La Mañana
On another story, Camille, one of only two bears in Navarra has killed four sheep in Roncal, as he fattens up for hibernation.
Here Tags: Bears in Navarra, Camille the bear, Pyrenean bears, Wildlife of Navarra, wildlife of the Pyrenees
Posted in bears, Catalonia, Navarra, Pyrenees | No Comments »
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
France has promised to “replace” any bears killed by hunters in the Pyrenees as part of its commitment to the animal, but does not seem likely to release any additional bears. Whether this means that the four bears killed in the last decade are to be replaced is still unclear.
Fapas
With only 20 odd animals in the range, freezing the reintroduction programme in this way may very well lead to its extinction.
Tags: Bear hunting in the Pyrenees, Pyrenean bears
Posted in bears, Pyrenees | No Comments »
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
I came across this rather harrowing photo in a book review of Historie de l’ours dans les Pyrénées in El Pireneo Digital. It was taken in 1928 after a hunt in Urdós, Valle de Aspe across the border in France. In 1935, some 200 bears still survived in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. The last bear steak was offered in restaurant in French Pyrenees in 1960. A ban on hunting came in Spain in 1967 and in France several years later. Today, with just 20 odd animals in the entire Pyrenees – most of which were brought from the Balkans, further reintroduction is the only way of re-creating a viable population of bears in the range.
Tags: Bear hunting in the Pyrenees, Bears in Aragon, Historie de l’ours dans les Pyrénées, Pyrenean bears
Posted in bears, history, Pyrenees | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
Without further reintroductions, the low number of bears in the Pyrenees (15-20 odd) make the conservation of the species inviable. For the time being, the French government has no plans to continue its reintroduction plans. Public support for bears in Catalonia is as high as 80%, but strong local opposition particularly in the Vall de Aran prevents any reintroduction programme from this side of the mountain range.
Fapas from La Mañana de Llerida
Tags: Bears in Aragon, Bears in Catalonia, Pyrenean bears, wildlife of the Pyrenees
Posted in bears, Catalonia, Pyrenees | No Comments »
Sunday, May 18th, 2008
Photo El País
Another update on brown bears in the Pyrenees. The population of bears in the range has “stabilised” at 20 individuals, of which only two (old) males and one cub belong to the autocthonous “group of Pyrenean bears. The remaining bears are those introduced from Eastern Europe in 1996, 1997 and 2006, or are cubs of these animals.
In Catalonia, in the last year at least 12 bears have been recorded passing some time here, and as some of these are now cubs, we can now begin to talk about a second generation growing up since the reintroductions began. A sign of the increased activity of bears is the first recording of a bear In the Vall d’Arán for a number of years. Watch the video of a female bear being followed by a male here. Both have recently awoken from hibernation.
The latest DNA evidence suggests that the genetic difference between Spanish bears and those from the rest of Europe is small, and therefore there should be no reason to oppose transfers from other areas on biological grounds. See Wikipedia for more on links on this. In 2007, brown bears in the Catalan Pyrenees killed 20 sheep, 1 cow and 1 horse, which the Catalan Government compensated to a tune of 6,640 euros. A small price to pay. See pirineos.com
See also Pyrenean bear news
Tags: Catalan Pyrenees, Pyrenean bears, Vall d'Arán
Posted in Aragonese Pyrenees, bears, Catalonia, Pyrenees | 1 Comment »
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Interesting long article on bears in El Pais contrasting the acceptance of bears in Asturias with the general opposition in the Pyrenees. 
