There have never been so many bears in the Pyrenees since the reintroduction of the species in the 1990s. Some 83 brown bears, and 16 cubs, were recorded in 2023, according to the Brown Bear Network report which must to be presented Tuesday April 2, and which South West took notice.
In 2022, which was already a record year, the census noted the presence of 76 individuals, compared to 70 in 2021. Eight litters, totaling 13 cubs, were detected in 2022. The average annual growth rate of the population Pyrenean between 2006 and 2021 is estimated at 11.23%.
It appears from the 2023 report that the vast majority of bears in the Pyrenees occupy a central core, between Ariège, Haute-Garonne and Spanish Catalonia. The western core, on the Béarn, Bigorre, Aragon and Navarre sides, is expanding with at least seven individuals including Sorita – one of the two Slovenian bears reintroduced in 2018 – and her last three cubs.