Entitled Actions for the establishment of a community cooperation network and working protocols on the rehabilitation of brown bears in Europe, this initiative promoted by Fundación Oso de Asturias (FOA) was carried out between January 2021 and February 2022 with the financial support of Fundación Biodiversidad.
Background Information
Fundación Oso de Asturias manages both enclosures for the maintenance of bears that for some reasons cannot be released back again into nature. Located in Santo Adriano (Asturias) they are home to the only two cantabrian brown bears in captivity. In addition, throughout its history the organization has participated in some of the experiences of handling and release orphaned and wounded bears that have taken place in the Cantabrian Mountains in the recent years.
In 2017 FOA with the financial support of Fundación Biodiversidad promoted the project: Working on captive cantabrian brown bears’ welfare. A project to improve facilities and working techniques. The goal of this initiative was to promote techniques and work habits aimed at maximizing the welfare of animals that spend part of their lives in captivity meaning the greatest expression of this welfare its rehabilitation that is the acquisition of the needed physical and psychological skills to live in freedom.
Why this project?
Cases of bears with problems – wounded, sick or orphaned – have increased in a remarkable way in recent years in the Cantabrian Mountains, with at least sixteen episodes recorded since 2005 out of the twenty-two documented since 1989.
In some of these cases the lack of basic criteria for dealing with those situations led to inadequate actions.
Although there are some initiatives that have dealt with this problem, this project aims to strengthen knowledge and cooperation in the areas of capture, release and monitoring of the specimens and communicate and disseminate to contribute to the conservation of this species in anthropized environments where similar cases are expected to continue to increase. In addition, working techniques with bears which suffer problems are not included in national strategies or regional recovery plans, so incorporating this subject into these tools is also an objective of this project.
Objectives
The main goal of this project is to develop an European cooperation network between different actors aimed at establishing and implementing joint working lines for the rehabilitation of brown bears with problems.
At the same time, the specific objectives of the project are:
- To increase training and collect information on rehabilitation and management of captive bears for rehabilitation with the aim of improving the knowledge of different aspects among the different actors involved (public administrations and NGOs)
- Provide training to the agents (technicians, wildlife rangers, veterinarians…) from the different administrations involved in brown bear conservation.
- Drafting and dissemination of working protocols related to the rehabilitation and management of brown bears in captivity:
– Trapping
– Clinical and psychological rehabilitation
– Tracking
– Communication and social information - Establish a network for information exchange and co-operation on bear rehabilitation between agents involved in the conservation of the species in Europe.
Activities
Bibliographical review. One of the first initiatives of the project was to carry out a bibliographical review on bear rehabilitation and cases in the Cantabrian Mountains in the last three decades. This review is focused on the following fields:
– Protocols
– Legislation and regulations
– Scientific papers
Cooperation agreements. At the same time, a collaboration agreement was established with ARCTUROS.
International seminar. In October 2021, an international workshop about brown bear rehabilitation was held at Casa del Oso (Proaza-Asturias). This workshop allowed the exchange of information between different agents involved in the rehabilitation of brown bears and finished with the creation of a communication channel between them to allow for a dynamic updated and rewarding exchange of information.
Internships and exchanges. In the months of November and December 2021, technical staff from the FOA visited the facilities of two pioneering rehabilitation centers in Europe: Bear Again (Romania) and Arcturos (Greece) to exchange knowledge and procedures for handling captive bears and rehabilitation processes.
Communication. Finally, in terms of communication, this web was developed and a technical booklet was published with a summary of the project and access to documentation.
Promoting and collaborating entities
FUNDACIÓN OSO DE ASTURIAS (FOA) is a non-profit organisation created in 1992 to promote and develop activities aimed to the conservation of the Cantabrian brown bear and its habitat.
FOA aims to promote, encourage and carry out activities aimed to the conservation, protection and scientific research of Cantabrian brown bear populations and their habitat all within the general context of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the Cantabrian
Mountains.
The main areas of its work are the following:
– Social awareness of the current situation of the Cantabrian brown bear and the significance of its existence in freedom.
– Environmental education aimed at specific groups and the general public.- Conservation of the socio-cultural values related to the Cantabrian brown bear.
– Scientific research on the species and its habitat.
ARCTUROS is a non-profit, non-governmental environmental organisation founded in 1992 focused on the protection of wildlife and natural habitats in Greece and internationally.
Among other activities ARCTUROS promotes scientific research as well as environmental education and social awareness on issues such as biodiversity.
Arcturos currently has a sanctuary housing 20 brown bears, a sanctuary housing boreal lynx and wolves, two environmental education centres focused on the conservation of bears and wolves in particular and local fauna in general, a volunteer house and a veterinary clinic. It also has facilities and qualified staff for the rehabilitation of problem bears.
BEAR AGAIN is a conservation and non-profit organisation located in Romania in Harghita County at the source of the Olt River. The facilities extend over a total area of approximately 3000 hectares in a valley bounded by the ridges of ?ipo? to the south-east and Sararia to the northwest.
The main objective of this project is to rehabilitate bear cubs that have been orphaned or separated from their mother for various reasons in order to finally reintroduce them into their natural habitat. After a process that lasts a maximum of two years these bears are released into the wild. But recovering these orphaned cubs is not the only objective of the project. The study and observation of the behaviour and ecology of this species is also a key action within our activities.
The area where the project is located is key to the rehabilitation process as the first phase of the project takes place in an area of 22 hectares in a system of enclosures. For the second phase, the area is ideal for active juveniles to develop their instincts and begin dispersal.
So far this project has successfully rehabilitated and returned to the wild approximately 200 bears that would otherwise have ended up in zoos or sanctuaries and captive for their entire lives. The survival rate after release is estimated to be around 60%.
In addition to these entities which have played an important role in the development of the project’s actions mention should also be made of the participation of different regional administrations (Principado de Asturias, Castilla y León, Cantabria, Galicia, Val d’Arán, Catalunya and the French government) and other entities such as the Brown Bear Foundation and Marcelle Natureza.
Team
Noa González Borrajo
Biologist and project coordinator
Fundación Oso de Asturias
José Tuñón Huerta
Biologist. Director of Fundación Oso de Asturias
Javier Naves Cienfuegos
Biologist. Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Miguel de Gabriel Hernando
Environmentalist. Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC)
Ernesto Díaz Otero
Naturalist. Director of La Jurbial Servicios Ambientales
