The comments are going well, but the mayor of Ust, small village of Couserans ariégeois, assumes its post. On Monday, he alerted his constituents – and potential hikers – via Facebook to the presence of a bear in the surrounding hills. Richard de Méritens advises them to remain cautious and keep an eye out.
For now, the bear info official websitewhich lists the testimonies of the presence of plantigrades, and indicates whether they could be attested by the specialists of the French Office for Biodiversity, mentions the certain passage of a bear, photographed by an automatic camera around May 25 in the neighboring town of Seix, and the discovery of hairs in the same place, left on June 7. At this same period, a horse was possibly attacked by a bear in the area, but the expertise is still “in progress” on this event.
A signaling counter-network
Like the mayor of Oust, the Aspap*which brings together mountain dwellers hostile to bears, also regularly broadcasts “hiking alerts” on Facebook, such as this week in the Orles valley, on the edge of the very busy GR10.
The association, which considers that the reports from the State services are not effective enough to know exactly and quickly where the 70 or so Pyrenean bears roam, also announces for Monday July 3 the opening of its own ” local reporting network. Accessible on request, via a WhatsApp loop, it has been humorously baptized “9G Network”, referring “to the nine valleys affected by the permanent presence of the bear”.
* Ariège Pyrenees Heritage Preservation Association