- Before the containment measures, members of the “brown bear” network had spotted bear tracks in the Pyrenees.
- During this period, each year, males come out of their den after a period of hibernation.
- In Asturias, Spain, a bear was spotted in a quarantined village by confined residents.
One thing is certain, the bears of the Pyrenees who returned to their lair at the beginning of last winter should not see the difference when they come out in the days to come. With a small detail, they will not meet hikers, fishermen or hunters. "An unprecedented situation for wildlife that has not arrived in hundreds or even thousands of years," notes Alain Reynes of the Pays de l'Ours-Adet association.
To limit accidents in the mountains and avoid saturation of emergencies other than those linked to the coronavirus epidemic, outings in the open are now prohibited. In fact, those devoted to the survey of plantigrade presence indices are just as important. But before returning to confinement, some of the members of the brown bear network had found traces of bears that had emerged from hibernation.
“We had testimonies of footprints with supporting photo on Sunday March 15, in Ariège. This is not surprising, from the end of February, we find signs of the exit of bears, often males and drop by drop, "said the head of the association.
It is also possible that this bear just went for a walk in the sun before returning to its den to continue hibernating. If this is the case, there is no question of touching the smallest berry. “When it hibernates, it does not drink, eat, urinate or defecate. Nothing comes out and nothing comes in. Because if he urinates he becomes dehydrated. It is considered that during this period, his drop in energy consumption is 25 to 30%, which does not allow him to have a normal activity ”, specifies the specialist.
A bear in a village in Spain
Males who have decided to take advantage of the sun and have chosen to really get out of their lethargy will have lost during the winter about 30% of their weight, or rather of their fat reserves. And like after any fast, the bears on the prowl will not engage in frantic consumption. In any case, not in the empty summer pastures at this time of the year.
Impossible to spot them also thanks to the cameras of the “brown bear” network, these are removed during the winter to prevent the electronics from being damaged by the cold. And trace surveys do not officially start until May.
In Asturias, Spain, it was under the eyes of the cameras of confined residents that a bear appeared in the streets of a village yesterday.
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Graban has an oso paseando por un pueblo asturiano en plena cuarentena. #jaraysedal #revistajaraysedal #cazadoresjys #jyshunters #hunting #caza #hunter #comoloquecazo #wildboar #chasse #jagd #oxata #deerhunting #rifle #ammo #huntinggame #huntingtrophy #estoescaza # jabalí #venado #habarr #monteria #jakt #wildboar #wildmeat #oso #bear
A post shared by Jara y Sedal 🇪🇸 (@ jaraysedal.es) on Mar 22, 2020 at 12:00 pm PDT
The calm of the streets pushed one of the 350 plantigrades in this region to push the getaway to civilization. But in quarantine, he did not meet many people.
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- Containment
- Pyrenees
- Wildlife
- Planet
- Biodiversity
- Bear