Brown bear population in Pyrenees highest for a century, says study

Monitors identify 70 individuals in 2021, with 114 newborns since launch of repopulation scheme in 1996

A scheme to reintroduce brown bears to the Pyrenees is showing signs of success, with 70 individuals identified in 2021, the highest number for a century.

The population has increased from 52 in 2018, according to figures produced by the cross-border group that monitors the bears in France and Spain, with half the creatures living in the Catalan Pyrenean regions of Vall d'Aran, Pallars Sobira and Alta Ribagorca. Overall, the population is thinly spread over an area of 6,500 sq km.