A FUTURE FOR SPAIN’S BROWN BEARS
WWW.FUNDACIONOSOPARDO.ORG
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The brown bear has now become the charismatic icon of wild Spain. FOP are restoring critical habitat corridors, which improves the population’s genetic health, by encouraging connectivity between bear subpopulations. They are fostering coexistence with local communities through communication and damage prevention techniques. Data-driven methodologies allow FOP to monitor bear ecology and understand their needs in a changing climate.
Since 1992, the Spanish foundation FOP has worked tirelessly to help save the Cantabrian brown bear from extinction. Living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Northern Spain, with a small population in the Pyrenees, bear numbers have now reached more than 400 animals, from a historic low of less than 50.
Monitoring bear behaviour and range during climate change is a critical pillar of FOP’s work.
FOP are working to reforest corridor areas to support bear dispersal.
The Cantabrian brown bear has been legally protected since 1973, but coexistence is a critical challenge.
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