Raquel Martínez, a native of Sant Boi, studied Environmental Sciences, and her life turned upside down when in the financial crisis of 2009 she decided to go to Canada, where since 2015 she has been working as a conservation officer in Jasper National Park (Alberta), surrounded by grizzlis and snowy spaces. She has decided to travel to the Cantabrian Sea and collaborate with the Oso Pardo Foundation, taking advantage of her long vacation, “because she wanted to know the reality of the bear in what, after all, is my country.”
What does your job consist of?
We take care of avoiding conflicts between wildlife and humans. Prevent incidents, educate people. Bears enter towns, campgrounds, golf courses. They love fresh grass. They get very close; they are very used to it.
And your job, what is it?
Scare them away, try to teach them where the border is, set limits for them.
Is the conflict between bears and man growing?
Bears, especially grizzlies, are getting used to being around humans. Before it was difficult to see a grizzly near the town; They were on the mountain. Black bears, on the other hand, have always approached us. Grizzlies go lower to valleys; They have gotten used to being around people. They tolerate a distance with humans that they did not tolerate before. They do not shy away from humans. They have learned that we are not a risk to them or a competitor.
Is this good or bad?
It is good that they do not see us as a risk, because that decreases the number of attacks: but it increases the frequency with which a person interacts with the animal.
And what does it entail?
The bear is a great tourist attraction to visit the national park. But when a bear appears, people lose their common sense. We have a lot of problems. The bears approach the road, a space they use to move and eat. People park 10 or 20 meters from the bear; and as soon as one gets out of the car to see a bear, whole families come out. There is a risk that the bear may react aggressively. We have had bear cubs run over.
How does it intervene?
If we have a bear on the road, under certain circumstances, I have to scare the bear away.
As?
We have several tools, according to the bear. There are some bears that run away more easily than others. Some of them recognize the uniform and as soon as we appear, they start moving as if to say “they are coming to kick us out”. First is to make noise, clap, shout, use the car horn.
And if it doesn’t work?
We use paintball guns, used to play and if they paint you, they eliminate you. We use a natural wax ball so that it biodegrades with magnesium and when it hits it creates a cloud of dust, which is very visual; They immediately notice that it has exploded at their feet; Well, we try to give the feet park to move to the other side. If they don’t respond, we’re going to hit it, which will make them itch, so we can get them moving again.
And if they don’t even respond?
We also go with a shotgun and we have several projectiles; and of course we also carry lethal ammunition, for personal protection against the bear, just in case. We have several projectiles that increase the force of the impact; rubber, softer plastics… This supposes a constant previous training. We do a lot of training throughout the year. There are always things that surprise us. Every season is different. This year we have had more grizzlies come into town. They were juveniles that separated from the mothers just this year. The mother knew how to set the limit while they were puppies; but when they separate from their mothers they go a step further, like a teenager.
Have you had to fire fatal shots?
I don’t; my team has eliminated some bear. Two years ago. It was a black bear that got into the fruit trees in the gardens of the town houses. One night the owners left the garage open and ate half the bird food. The owner didn’t tell us because he felt guilty. But the next night, they closed the garage door and the animal came and ripped out the window. When they have such a big reward, it is normal for them to act like this.
You don’t have to give them facilities.
There campaigns are made to eliminate what is an attractant for the bear. The rubbish bins are closed, they cannot be opened, they are anchored to the ground. If you give them facilities with the garbage, it is easy for them to return.
Have you felt fear? What conclusion can be drawn from the situation of the Bay of Biscay?
You cannot lose respect for an animal like the bear. If the bear population increases, the interactions will grow; we have to set limits, because we want to live with them, we inhabit the same territory.
