Spain’s Iberian brown bear population, once nearly extinct, has rebounded so strongly that a ranger patrol was created to discourage them from roaming the small towns in the country’s north.
The Junta de Castilla y León ordered that the patrol, made up of nine guards, monitor the residents and their crops in the mining town of Villablino and its surroundings, in the province of Palencia, as reported.
Their mission is to keep the endangered ursines safe and healthy, while allowing human residents to coexist with them.
If locals see a bear, which can weigh between 330 and 550 pounds and measure more than 6.5 feet tall, they are asked to remain calm and call the rangers’ 24-hour hotline for help.
Bears can weigh between 330 and 550 pounds and measure more than 6.5 feet. REUTERS
Rangers, armed with radios, rubber-ball shotguns and tracking devices, fire warning shots to drive the animals out of the villages.
Ángeles Orallo, 73, has been trying to keep bears away from her orchard.
“We are older people… it is sad that we cannot go out for a walk calmly,” he lamented. .
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If they see a bear, residents should call patrol. REUTERS
Thirty years ago, there were only 60 bears left in Spain, but today the country is home to 400.
“The increase in the bear population causes an increase in conflicts” with humans, said patrol coordinator Daniel Pinto.
In 2021, a team of veterinarians, biologists and rangers created a satellite system to monitor the animals.
So far, rangers have captured 12 bears. REUTERS
Once captured, the bears are anesthetized and fitted with a GPS collar so they can be easily located in the future. So far, rangers have captured 12 bears which were then released far from the villages.
The rise in bears has already boosted tourism in the area, as people come to the region to see them in the wild.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn