A New Exchange with Andorra

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In recent years, the spectacular mountains of Andorra have been visited by bears coming from the neighboring territories of France and Catalonia. With the aim of ensuring the coexistence of bears and human activities, the Andorran environmental authorities organized a new meeting between the Cos de Banders (Andorra’s environmental rangers) and the Brown Bear Foundation (FOP).

During their stay in the western Cantabrian Mountains, the two teams shared experiences and lessons learned. Together with Asturian environmental rangers, they also installed a Culvert trap for capturing bears, and had the opportunity to observe several brown bear individuals.

During one of the days, the Andorran team had the opportunity to learn about and discuss Cantabrian brown bear management with authorities, experts, and environmental rangers from the Principality of Asturias. The meeting took place at the Somiedo Natural Park Interpretation Centre and was also attended by the Mayor of Somiedo, who spoke about the economic benefits that bears bring to the municipality and the lessons learned about coexistence.

Meetings between teams working with bears in different territories and countries are always valuable and highly interesting, as they provide an opportunity to discuss problems and solutions and to share common challenges in bear and biodiversity conservation.

The meeting took place as part of the LIFE Human Bear Coex project, coordinated by FOP and funded by the European Union.

Coexistence Between People and Bears at the VíaNatur Festival

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Last Thursday, 21 May, the Brown Bear Foundation (FOP) had the opportunity to speak at the VíaNatur Film Festival about the need to implement conflict prevention and mitigation measures to facilitate coexistence between bears and local residents in bear areas. In this context, the FOP, together with the municipalities with the highest bear densities in the western Cantabrian Mountains, is developing the LIFE Human Bear Coex project, which includes measures such as protecting beehives and other property with electric fences and deterrents, installing bear-proof waste container covers, and capturing and radio-tracking habituated bears in Asturias.

In addition, two films produced by the FOP were screened: one about the lives of Cantabrian brown bears throughout the four seasons, featuring footage recorded by the field team, and an animated short film offering advice on how to safely explore brown bear habitat in the mountains.

This event was part of the extensive programme of the third edition of the VíaNatur Film Festival, which focuses on threatened wild mammals and is being held from 17 to 24 May in Valladolid. Initiatives such as this create a much-needed space for educational and critical reflection, helping to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment.