2023-07-05 18:14:14
Published on 05/07/2023 18:14
Video length: 7 mins.
Raw. Article written by Brut.
Brut followed Geoffrey Darmani, leader of the bear network and agent of the Fédération des chasseurs du 31, and Pierre-Luigi Lemaitre, coordinator of the brown bear network of the French Office for Biodiversity, in the footsteps of the animal in the Pyrenees .
If they hope to be able to cross his path, Pierre-Luigi Lemaitre and Geoffrey Darmani are mainly looking for brown bear hair clinging to the bark of trees in the Pyrenees mountains. “The bears will grab the tree so they can rub. This allows them to communicate with their peers” describes Geoffrey Darmani. The two experts do not say to each other “the aunt is the pro“brown bears, their mission is”scientist” in order to “allow managers to make decisions” says Pierre-Luigi Lemaitre. Thanks to DNA processing, each year they establish kinship links between the bears and assess their total number.
An inbreeding that would increase since 2006
If in the 1990s, the brown bear was threatened with extinction in the Pyrenees, its growth rate has again become “normal“Thanks to a release mission a few years later, explains Pierre-Luigi Lemaitre. There would currently be at least 76 brown bears in the Pyrenees.
On the other hand, “the big issue on the Pyrenean population”, it is inbreeding “increasing since 2006” says Pierre-Luigi Lemaitre. Whether “the species has a very low chance of becoming extinct in the Pyrenees over the next 30 years”inbreeding presents potential risks to fertility and reduced resistance to certain diseases. “So the solution to that is going to be to bring back genetic diversity. You have to be able to bring people back. This being the case, today, we have no estimate of this genetic viability. So, potentially, it can be enough too” concludes Pierre-Luigi Lemaitre.
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