Counting Bears in the Pyrenees

 

The European Brown bear (Ours brun) in France live in the remote, dense woodland of the middle slopes of the Pyrenean mountain chain. Difficult terrain; very steep, thick undergrowth, and no bear is necessarily going to stick to existing footpaths, although like much of wildlife they do use them when it suits them.

This habitat makes counting their numbers a challenge; they are rarely seen during the day and even though occasionally caught on camera traps whilst wandering their known habitats, a more scientific approach needs to be followed in order to establish an accurate census. DNA (Fr.AND) samples need to be collected so individuals, family trees and to a point behaviour can be analysed and understood.

So one July day I was lucky to be invited to join a English friend, Rich, who has been involved in this census for the last few years. We started early, having camped nearby in order to ideally complete the task in the cooler morning hours, and started climbing the footpaths that led to the mixed woodland which are Rich’s sector. During a defined two week period of the year there are many volunteers throughout the mountain range, each with their own section to cover. All this is coordinated by the Office Francais de Bioversité, OFB, with its dedicated arm the Réseau Ours Brun, ROB.

Having climbed a track for about 15 minutes we came across a sign that we were in bear country; a collection of bee-hives surrounded by an electric fence. Every reader of Winnie the Pooh will know that bears have a sweet tooth, and will easily destroy hives to get at ‘hunny’ inside, atracted by the rich smell. I have seen this protection before in Bulgaria where bears are more common - and the fences were much stronger, and was told that they needed to be, as earlier a bear had destroyed the hives in its quest, previous fences having being broken.

 

Just after the hives we were obliged to leave the forest tracks and set off on a tough climb into the fern covered hillsides that you find at this altitude in the mountains. We were following  an animal track no more than 30 centimetres wide, and to guide us we had a record of a map on a smartphone. Reception in this remote area being patchy, so although Rich knew we were close by we had to start searching for what we thought was the most likely tree to be a desirable back scratcher for a bear. So, a big solid trunk, at a good angle, not too much undergrowth, approachable by a very large animal.

 

Of course in a forest there are many trees that fit the bill. So, in order to make the tree attractive to bears, they are anointed with a special fish oil that is brought in from Scandinavia. Sticky and pungent it last a long time so will not be washed off by the rain, Rich carried a packet of the oil which we re-painted onto the trunk with a suitable stick.

Of course, for the bears there is more to this than simply having a good scratch, although the videos show that they certainly enjoy the sensation. They are also leaving their scent as a calling card, advertising their presence to a suitable mate or warning off other same sex rivals who might be penetrating into the territory. Bears are not sociable animals, preferring to stay solitary except when a mother is raising her cubs.

This family group can stay together  for a number of years. Indeed, in Sweden where bears can be hunted except when they have cubs, there has been an increase of a year by the cubs staying with their mother compared with a few decades ago, up from a year and a half to two years and a half. This can be explained by the fact that the females caring longer survive better than the others, and could be passing that gene onto their own female offspring. An example of human pressure forcing evolutionary change on the species.

So having found the target tree we searched for the vital clue of fur. Short lengths of barbed wire had been attached to the trunks, and as the bear rubs its back against the wire hopefully some hairs will be caught. There was a total of seven trees on Rich’s circuit, and in the end only one produced some fur. This was put into a bag to be later analysed in a laboratory, giving the vital DNA clues as to which bear is in the area. 

 

There then remained the task of renewing the oil lure, as can be seen in the photo below.

 

The bear population in the French Pyrenean range has been steadily increasing since the first reintroductions 1996-7. They came from Slovenia, and are an identical species to the native bears that had decreased due to human activity over the last century, and was reduced to five in the early 1990s. Currently the population is estimated to be at least seventy six; this would appear to be a success story for those that support the idea of wildlife living alongside humans, as of course I do.

However DNA studies show that all is not well. Since 2006 inbreeding has become a real threat to the genetic health of the population; nearly all are descendants of two females, called Melba and Hvala, and even worse with more that 85% as being descendants of a male called Pyros. The French government, under pressure from the anti-bear lobby, are resisting the warnings from the scientific community that is unsustainable for the future of the local populations. Previous attempts to bring new blood lines have so far proved fruitless.

So what to do in the very unlikely event of coming across a wild bear? Bears have very good hearing but poor eyesight, and if you come across bear traces – droppings or paw prints - it is good to talk loudly, sing or whatever but do not shout. Do not follow the traces, and if you have one, keep the dog on the lead. The bear will avoid you. If closer than fifty metres, keep calm, move slowly away and above all do not run away, leaving, if possible, a path that the bear can escape down. Running can provoke a predation instinct.

I have seen bears at a respectful distance of 300 metres in Spain, a mother and cubs, and she slowly took them out of sight, so both humans and bears needs were cared for. They are an exciting animal to see.

It was a fascinating day, thank you to Rich for inviting me and above all thank you to the OFB for giving permission for this article.