A hunter shot dead the female brown bear Sarousse in the Spanish Pyrenees at the weekend, the regional authorities said. This is the third time a bear is killed this year in the Pyrenees.
The hunter “claimed to have acted in self-defense”, the government of Aragón said in a tweet late on Sunday. “Sarousse died after being shot,” it said. The regional nature protection service had opened an investigation.
Sarousse’s death came just 10 days after police in the neighboring Catalonia region said they had arrested a person over the death of the six-year-old male brown bear Cachou in April. The cause of death of Cachou has not been made public.
In June, another young male bear, aged four or five, was shot dead 70 kilometers further east near a ski station in Ariege on the French side of the border.
Close to extinction, the brown bear was reintroduced to the Pyrenees in the early 1990s, with animals brought in from Slovenia. There are about 50 bears today, but their presence has caused tension with animal farmers.
ℹ️ Muere la osa Sarousse como consecuencia de un disparo.
— Gobierno de Aragón (@GobAragon) November 29, 2020
APNs, miembros de la Patrulla Oso del @GobAragon y el #Seprona han certificado esta tarde su muerte en el valle de Bardají (Huesca). El #Seprona se ha hecho cargo de la investigación.
Más info👉 https://t.co/T8eE8km3Aa pic.twitter.com/jKmaU2vAMX
