The Orlu reserve is a good place to observe wildlife.
The many hikers can observe there, if they are attentive, marmots, izards (chamois) or partridges.
Thursday, April 27, it was a bear that two hikers encountered in the Ariège nature reserve located east of the Pyrenees, near the Spanish border.
The two women, who had been walking on a path for about fifteen minutes, saw the imposing mammal about twenty meters from them, reports
La Dépêche du Midi
.
The animal then stood up on its two hind legs, without approaching, then quietly left when the hikers began to talk.
“
Checks were made, there was indeed the presence of the bear
” at the place indicated by the hikers, confirmed to
Figaro
the town hall of Orlu.
An unusual presence
No incident this time, but that does not prevent Mayor Alain Naudy from worrying about the increase in the number of bears present on the territory.
This could endanger summer walkers and increase bear damage.
“
I'm afraid it will do a lot of damage, the worries will start again […] And not just in Couserans, where they are however in the majority,
” he confided to
La Dépêche du Midi
.
The Ariège bear population is largely found in Couserans, a small province to the west of the department, according to the latest report from the French Office for Biodiversity published on May 30.
The presence of a bear in the Orlu valley is unusual and confirms the increase in the number of bears in this part of the Pyrenees.
“
Last year, the number of bears in Ariège was estimated at 77. But that's 10% more every year.
We must now be at more than 80 and that is a problem
, ”explains the mayor of the town to
France 3 Occitanie
.
Read alsoIn the Pyrenees, psychosis grows in the face of the bear
On Friday, May 5, the government made bear scaring possible again, which involves scaring bears that approach herds.
These practices had been prohibited during the reintroduction of the mammal, the bear being a protected species.
During his visit to the breeders of Ariège on April 17, 2023, the Minister of Agriculture Marc Fesneau had already spoken on the subject, declaring that the State was preparing to prepare new texts allowing the implementation of prefectural decrees by the prefects.