Finding ways for Spain's humans and bears to coexist

Spain's Iberian brown bears, once almost extinct, now stray into mountain villages in the country's north so often that the regional government in Castile and Leon has set up a patrol of nine rangers to protects residents and the endangered species.

Experts and local veterinarians monitor the mountains where Iberian brown bears live. In order to better understand the animals' behavior, remote-controlled cages are also used to capture individual bears so they can be fitted with a GPS collar.

Adult bears, who can weigh as much as 250 kilograms (550 pounds) and stand up to 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) tall, live up to 30 years. Historically, brown bears roamed much of the Iberian Peninsula. They received protected status in 1973, and their numbers dropped to only 60 by the 1990s due to hunting and habitat loss. Today, there are more than 400.

As the bear population increases, so have bears' encounters with humans.These cages are used to temporarily capture wandering bears without endangering other animals. "The aim is to seek solutions to the conservation challenges we face with bears, mainly in urban environments," David Cubero, coordinator of the brown bear trapping and radio-tagging plan, told the Reuters news agency.

Once a bear is trapped, it's anesthetized by a veterinarian. Before fitting the GPS collar, the veterinarian measures the animal and gives it a general medical examination, closely monitoring all bodily functions. Afterwards, the tagged bears are released far from the villages.

If locals see a bear, they've been advised to call the rangers on the 24-hour hotline and stay calm. The patrol knows that they need to act quickly to allay any safety concerns. As soon as they receive a call, they grab their radios, rubber-ball shotguns and tracking devices, and rush out the door to drive the bears away with warning shots.

Angeles Orallo and her husband Valentin Ruiz Barreiro, here in their home in Villarino, are worried about the growth of the bear population — and they aren't alone. "We are older people. The fact that we can't go out for a quiet walk is sad," said the 73-year-old Orallo, who also wants to keep the bears out of her vegetable garden.

Here, Daniel Pinto from the monitoring program is seen trying to track a bear with a GPS device. "What we want is to monitor at all times, in real time [...] to be able to act quickly, always to improve the bears' coexistence with humans," said coordinator Cubero.