On 16-20th October we had the pleasure to meet our Spanish partners from the Estacion Biologica de Doniana -EBD CSIC- in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain. This meeting is part of the long-term collaboration between our group and members of the Conservation Biology and Global Change research group of the EBD CSIC. This is one of the numerous meetings we have organized together over our 10 years of collaboration – we have conducted together 3 international projects and published 12 scientific and popular articles on diverse topics related to bear biology such as, resource selection, trophic ecology, conflicts with humans or chemical communication.
On this occasion, we gathered in a small village in the distribution of the eastern segment of the Cantabrian brown bear population. During three days we discussed in depth ongoing studies about the ecology and conservation of bears and wolves in Spain, Poland and Europe. Specifically, the studies discussed included an assessment of how human-induced mortality can halt the expansion of large carnivore populations, potential implications of litter size on behavioral traits, spatial-temporal trends, patterns and correlates of livestock losses to large carnivore damage, and the management and political aspects behind large carnivore conservation in Europe.
We could also enjoy a wonderful mountain landscape where bears, wolves, deer, boars, wildcats, foxes and other wildlife interact with each other, under the watchful eyes of vultures, golden eagles, and choughs (to name a few) that govern in the sky.
Numerous anthropogenic pressures threaten the conservation of large carnivores in Europe. We look forward to continuing the collaboration with our colleagues to deepen our understanding of the requirements of large carnivore species, with the goal of informing management and conservation policies that will help preserving the ecological integrity and resilience of European landscapes.
by Carlos Bautista