Mystery in the Mountains: Join the Hunt for the Brown Bear in the Pyrenees

The Many Benefits of Hiking [4/4] Whether in the mountains or by the sea, to rediscover plants, animals, or oneself, hiking serves as a boundless tool for empowerment and reconnection with nature.

Melles (Haute-Garonne), reportage

With the flash of his phone sweeping across the bark of an oak tree, casting dancing shadows, Adrien Derousseau’s eyes widen in search of any sign. « Jackpot! » exclaims the day’s guide, gleefully. « Ladies and gentlemen, I believe the bear has left us a little gift. » At an altitude of 1,086 meters, on the heights of Melles, a quaint Occitan village with a population of 85, the group inspects the find, their faces lighting up at the sight of a clump of dark fur.

From May to November, the Bear Country association organizes hikes on the trail of this forest ghost: the Pyrenean brown bear. The aim is to raise awareness about this mammal, often shrouded in myths, and to contribute to valuable scientific efforts. Collecting fur, discovering footprints, reviewing footage from automated cameras… The tasks are too numerous, and the territory too vast, for the French Office for Biodiversity’s « bear » team to monitor this large predator on their own.

It’s barely 7 AM on June 21. Wearing a black beret and a gray-green shirt embroidered with the association’s emblem, Adrien Derousseau waits at the base of the Crabère inn. The innkeeper, a white Polynesian tiaré flower tucked above her ear, finishes chatting with her guests and the assembly gathers—slightly behind schedule. « Ready?  Let’s go! », announces the guide.

Among the group are two lovers who arrived the previous day from Toulon, bringing with them the sharp accent of their coves. « The bear?  We hardly know it, says Florian. Where we come from, it’s the wolves… and recently, the golden jackal. » There are also two slender brothers—one studying veterinary medicine, the other training in the railway industry—who set off at dawn from Toulouse. Patrice and Charlotte lead the pack, while Sylvie and Marie-Noëlle, the elders from Narbonne, trail behind.

« The routes for scouting are… airy, to say the least, almost impractical for the average person, Adrien begins. But don’t worry, we’ve created a more accessible educational path just for you. » Yet, there’s no time to dawdle. To reach these remote trails, where only 4 to 5 bears are captured on cameras each year, a few hours of strenuous hiking await the day’s trackers.

As the ascent begins, the guide pauses to watch his guests stamp their boot prints into a large mud puddle. Schplok-schplok. « Hey, you should watch where you’re stepping, he jokes. The search for clues starts now. » Skeptical, Sylvie lets out an « Oh, this low? » eliciting a grin from her guide. « Forget the altitude. The bear is not a mountain mammal, but a forest one. It could live in Fontainebleau or the Landes. » In the past, the giant indeed roamed the plains of France.

Nothing predestined Adrien Derousseau to become an expert in the field one day. « I grew up in Cambrai [North], » he says. « And it shows, » teases Patrice. After studying ecology in Lille, then in the Jura, he earned his mountain guide certification. A birdwatching stop on Nouvelle Island, in the Gironde estuary, brought him to the Pyrenees, which he barely knew at the time. Ten years later, how many times has he encountered a bear? ? « Zero, he says. Except at the zoo. However, I’m convinced that it has watched me. It must be amused watching us search for it without ever succeeding. »

And what if they encountered one right now… « What would you do? » he asks the group. « I’d run away, » blurts Marie-Noëlle without hesitation. « As impressive as a big fellow of 300 kilos might be, remember one thing: we, humans, are not on its menu, » retorts Adrien Derousseau. The elusive animal is likely to disappear. Recently, a woman turned a corner and found herself face-to-face with the creature, continues the guide. « It was there, just 3 meters away. And she barely had time to realize before the bear had already scrammed. »

Sometimes, the scenario is different. A young bear might succumb to curiosity about this strange biped covered in fabric. A female, accompanied by her cubs, might make a bluff charge and stop a few meters away. « And if she stands on her hind legs, don’t panic, he continues. Bears are nearsighted. It helps them to better smell you and assess the danger. » Since 1996 and the first bear reintroductions in the Pyrenees, only one accident has been recorded in France.

Final quiz of the morning: « Imagine a bear walking right at your feet. Place your hand at the height of its back. » Some answers are so outlandish that a burst of laughter escapes the guide. « That’s the size of a horse!  Forget the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio fights a 3-meter bear in “The Revenant”. Your imaginations deceive you. » Placing his palm at thigh height, he adds: « In the Pyrenees, some bears are no bigger than a wild boar. »

Less agile than a herd of chamois, the group now faces the steepest slopes of the old beech-fir forest. « We’re almost halfway there, » Adrien Derousseau repeats for the third time. « I don’t believe it anymore, retorts the woman from Narbonne. That only works with kids… And even then! » Each excuse is good for a short break… Here, the display of a black woodpecker ; there, the song of a hobby or the discovery of chanterelles. And finally, at the summit, the Holy Grail: the famous motion-activated camera.

The guide grabs the device hidden under the lichen, pulls out the SD card, and retrieves a tablet from his bag: « Oh darn… There’s not much to see here. » The images recorded over the previous fortnight scroll across the screen. A deer, a kid—offspring of the chamois—but no bears in sight. Their thick fur sometimes escapes the thermal detectors, which are supposed to be infallible.

Fortunately, Adrien Derousseau brought with him an archive from May 13. Around 8 PM, right where the budding trackers are viewing the footage, stood a fine specimen. « Wow! »

The search for clues continues on a small patch of plowed earth, known as « revoir », marked by the bear’s footprints as it passes—it’s the oldest bear trap invented by humans. Not this time ! However, a clump of fur remains stuck in a piece of barbed wire nailed to the trunk of an oak. From the forest phantom ? Without a doubt.

Amandine, from Toulon, dons a pair of gloves and places the precious DNA sample into an envelope, to which Florian, her partner, adds the address of the OFB. With this data, the agency will conduct a major statistical survey in the fall: « A real-life giant Cluedo, » smiles Adrien Derousseau. All to achieve the coveted population estimate: 104 last year.

On the way back, the guide shares more anecdotes. Starting with the remarkable ability of female bears to pause their gestation… until they enter hibernation: « Wow!  exclaims Charlotte. Does that mean that right now, some bears have a future cub in their womb and will wait until November to start the process? » Adrien Derousseau nods. « As a result, she can even have embryos from different males in the same season, » he adds.

They also discuss the growing threat of inbreeding and the unfair prosecution of bears, orchestrated by some agricultural unions: « The biggest predator of sheep is the fly, the guide clarifies. A small wound is enough for it to literally nibble the animal. The bear is responsible for only 2 % of the losses. However, farmers are unlikely to protest in front of prefectures against an insect. »

In the final steep climb separating them from the inn, bodies tire and faces tense: « Welcome to the graveyard climb, jokes Adrien Derousseau. Don’t worry, right after this, it’s the descent to the beer. »