“Coexistence is already a reality”
Ruppert Vimal is a researcher at the Environmental Geography laboratory of the University of Toulouse-CNRS.
The ursine population is increasing in the Pyrenees – around 70 bears – while predation figures seem to be stabilizing in recent years. This is directly linked to the efforts to protect the pastures: the presence of shepherds and dogs, night regrouping of the herd with electric fences and scaring techniques with detonation grenades or rubber bullets. Despite the debates, the pastoral world has adapted for ten years to the presence of the bear. Coexistence is already a reality. And since this year, we no longer leave the choice to farms: they must fulfill two of the three protective measures to benefit from predation aid.
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The bears will be more and more numerous. There will never be zero predation. We have to find the right compromise. It’s all about adaptation, on both sides. For the shepherds and breeders, their work is profoundly disrupted in the summer pastures, and this adds to the difficulties of pastoralism, which predated the bear’s return. For bears, which are 75% vegetarian and have enough to eat in the mountains, they must be educated about the fear of man, and made to understand that the summer pastures are not their pantry. We still have to carry out prospective work: what pastoralism and what bear presence do we want in ten years?
“The State lacks firmness”
Patrick Leyrissoux is vice-president of the Ferus association.
The Pyrenean pastoral does an excellent job with the farms to protect themselves. She comes to their aid with her night guards. But progress remains very slow. Too many herds are still not protected.
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This is not a war between pro and anti-bear: 70 to 75% of the Pyrenean population is in favor of plantigrade, which is part of its heritage. This percentage has been stable over the years. Only a small part is resolutely hostile to it. Unfortunately, the state lacks firmness in the face of the hard core of the radicalized. Four bears have been killed in two years. Abuses are not sanctioned, and slaughtered bears are not replaced, contrary to the commitments of the 2018-2028 brown bear action plan. It is a way of encouraging opponents.
No conservation action is taken. Whether it is to fight against poaching, to release new bears to ensure sufficient genetic diversity or to plant fruit trees to promote the establishment of the bear in the heart of the Pyrenees, so that the two sub-populations east and west meet. However, the population remains classified “Critically endangered”. The study carried out by the Natural History Museum in 2013 showed that at least 90 to 100 mature bears would have to be counted to pass in the category ” in danger “, and at least 200 to 220 individuals to reach the category “Vulnerable”. This population would still have to have sufficient genetic diversity. We are very far from it.
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