From being brought to the brink of extinction due to harassment by poachers and habitat degradation, to its population increasing and becoming a tourist attraction attracting thousands of visitors. The story of the bears in the Cantabrian Mountains is an interesting one. Because of his numbers. And for them to read. There was a time, not so long ago, when experts thought that it was practically lost, only a few dozen samples were divided into two cores. Today their numbers have multiplied in Asturias and it is a very influential tourist attraction.

In fact, there is so much interest there that in the summer months, more than 5,000 visitors come to Somiedo’s council wanting to photograph the bear cubs.

(Large) bear hook. Not so long ago, conservationists eyed the bear in the Cantabrian Mountains with an undisguised concern that invited anything but optimism, waiting for a lifeless recording of just a few dozen specimens. Now the data is much more promising and those who look at the vegetation with interest are tourism professionals. And rightly so.

Their town has become a tourist attraction, attracting thousands of visitors who want to see the bears at their leisure each summer. There are observation points. There are bear related events. Routes are available for 40 Euros. Also noteworthy is the influx of nature enthusiasts carrying cameras around their necks.

Are that many people moving? Yes, this is reflected in the data collected a few days ago. NewspaperThis indicates that more than 12,000 people passed through Somiedo during the summer, 5,800 in July and several more in August. And the proof that this wave of visitors is largely influenced by the possibility of seeing a bear around the Nature Park is that professionals in the industry assure that this was the main motivation for 90% of the visits recorded in August.

Roberto Galán, Natura Somiedo’s guide and environmental educator, admits to the newspaper: “This is still king, and lately people come just to see the bears. It’s the most popular activity.” The hoteliers’ association approves of the explosion.

take advantage of the vein. Mayor Belarmino Fernández recalls the importance of the declaration of Somiedo Natural Park in 1988; This was an initiative that promoted “tourist development” in the region and whose main image was the bear. Of course, the most hikers back then could hope to pass through the same environment as brown bears. Given the population at the time, the likelihood of seeing one in person was low, to say the least.

Fernández points out that over the years, “appropriate infrastructure” has been created to make things easier for visitors, such as parking lots and viewpoints, without interfering with the environment. “40 percent of the park cannot be visited, we want people in the villages to be able to see the bears from a distance with binoculars and without affecting the protection of the park,” the councilor adds. Newspaper. Considering how the bear population has evolved, and especially its impact on tourism in the area, it doesn’t seem like that bet has any merit.

“Full of people”. In August, Fernández acknowledged that the council was “full of people”, mostly tourists looking for bears. Viewpoints were full, and on the eve of the festive weekend in mid-August, the occupancy rate for rural tourism accommodation reached 80% in some areas; this rate was well above the national average, which barely exceeded 60% in the industry at the time.

“Like in the zoo”. This phenomenon is actually complex. Not only are more tourists coming; Those who visit the region also have different profiles. Galán recently pointed this out: “In the summer, we increasingly find people coming with the idea of ​​taking a photo of the bear, recording it and leaving, without paying much attention to the species or nature.” “Many people think that seeing a bear in the wild is like seeing it at the zoo; they expect to see it within ten minutes.”

Successes… and challenges. Tourist success also brings risks. few months ago Leon’s Diary He echoed some experts’ concerns about an increase in the number of visitors seeking to spot bears in Leon and Asturias. They are worried about how this will affect the animals. Vincenzo Penteriani, an expert at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), stated that the reason for this was the behavior of visitors who “did not respect” the distance from the bears.

“They can cause problems that irritate bears, which can become aggressive when they’re in heat.” Farmers have also spoken out against the problems created by tourism and the growing population. There are local people who confess that they see with concern the incursions of animals attracted by honey hives or fruit trees.

Was it always like this? Definitely. The brown bear has established a presence in the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees and has become a tourist attraction, but this has not always been the case. At the end of the 20th century, between the late 80s and early 90s, it is estimated that there were about 50 or 60 specimens split into two cores in the Cantabrian Mountains; one of which has the “lowest genetic variability”. in the world,” recalls Oso Pardo Foundation to RTVE Guillermo Palomero.

The situation is very different now. According to calculations published by CSIC last year, there are more than 370 examples that are growing exponentially and spread over an area of ​​​​about 17,000 km2 in various provinces.

Situation in the Pyrenees. The situation was also dramatic in the Pyrenees at the end of the last century, which led to measures to prevent the extinction of brown bears in the mountain range. Graphs from the GSTOP Cross-Border Monitoring Group reflect what the situation is today, following efforts in recent years: from a witnessed presence, with a handful of examples, in 1996, to 76 recorded in the 2022 provisional census.

The Brown Bear Foundation also reported that in 2023, a significant number of them were cubs and that the species covered an area of ​​5,700 km2 in the Pyrenees, much less than two years ago. “There are no satellite-tracked specimens”. But the bear’s history in the region is marked by successes and losses. In October 2010, France declared the last native specimen of the Pyrenees, known as “Camille”, dead.

“On the verge of extinction”. This is how Palomero evaluates the situation of the brown bear at the end of the 20th century. It is currently a protected species in danger of extinction, but it has managed to move out of the critical category and its evolution in recent years is often presented as “one of the greatest conservation success stories” in Spain. The numbers also support this.

The key to change? Conservation plans, repopulation, surveillance to corner poaching, a change in social sentiment. Palomero denounced that to achieve this, it was necessary to overcome some significant threats, such as trapping or hunting, which, although secret, was maintained “with a certain impunity”.

a harassed species. “The Cantabrian brown bear population was isolated between the 17th century and the early 19th century and continued to decline in the 20th century. By 1973 this population was maintained, but continued to decline until the 1990s. Human-caused mortality (hunting, poisoning, etc.) and habitat loss (mining (industrialization, mining or infrastructure) were the main threats to the population during the decline,” stated a study on the subject published in 2023. Conservation Science and Practice.

He is not the only one influencing the reasons for the bear’s decline. Broadcast in the 90s Ecology He repeated another survey in which wardens were asked what was the key to the “depopulation” of the bear in the Cantabrian Mountains. Their answers: Poaching, habitat loss, lack of peace and road construction in the surrounding area. The situation is starting to be different today. To the joy of environmentalists and the Asturian tourism industry.

Pictures | Wikipedia, Andara Rutas (Flickr) and AR Escuela Superior de Medio Ambiente (Flickr)

in Xataka | Japan against bears, first attack: The country is experiencing a wave of attacks and plans to green light hunting in urban areas