A driver who was circulating on the C-28 of Port de la Bonaigua, in the municipality of Alt Àneu (Lleida), has witnessed a very unusual scene, that of a bear that has come down to the height of the road and he has run along the shoulder for a few seconds, to then return to the mountain.
The Department of Climate Action of the Generalitat has confirmed to the newspaper Segre the veracity of this curious image, which has circulated on social networks in recent days.
This new sighting confirms the growth and stabilization of this animal that was reintroduced a few decades ago in the Catalan Pyrenees. In the Pyrenean region of Pallars, the first three puppies of the year after hibernation were recorded a few days ago. Specifically, they were located on May 18, near the ilerdense municipality of Sorpe.
The population of brown bears has not stopped growing in the mountains. According to the latest balance of the Cross-Border Monitoring Group of the Bear in the Pyrenees (GSTOP), which monitors the conservation and monitoring actions of this species in 2022 in Catalonia, Aragon and Navarra and in France and Andorra, up to 76 specimens are counted, with 13 new bear cubs.
According to the census of plantigrades carried out every year by this group, made up of representatives of the regional and national administrations, the number of bears living in the Pyrenees has not stopped growing: in 2020 it went from 68 to 69 and in 2021 from 70 to 74 copies.
Regarding sex, there are currently 39 females and 35 males, plus two specimens of unidentified sex. Of the 76 specimens recorded in the last count, 39 (51.5%) are adults, 24 (31.5%) are subadults and 13 (17%) are cubs of the year. Of these pups, 6 are female, 5 male, and 2 of unidentified sex.
