Manuel Díaz Fernández, Fundación Oso de Asturias

Negative interactions between humans and large carnivores represent one of the main conservation challenges due to the social conflicts they can generate. In the case of brown bears, these interactions include visits to human settlements, a type of event increasingly reported in recent years. We present a study where we collected 73 bear visits events to human settlements between 2009 and 2021 in the Cantabrian population (NW Spain). These events were mainly caused by young individuals, occurring mostly at night and during the summer, when bears were primarily attracted by fruit trees available in human settlements. The affected settlements were located in areas of high habitat quality, close to breeding cores, and with a high intensity of bear damage. Within these areas, human settlements with bear visits differed from nearby ones by having a larger perimeter, a shorter distance to forest patches, and greater surrounding terrain ruggedness.
Our results highlight the need for improved, standardized, and transparent data collection and categorization of these events, linked to adaptive intervention protocols that prioritize preventive measures, particularly the management of trophic attractants, to anticipate conflicts and promote coexistence. In response to this specific challenge, an integrated and participatory process is being developed in the Cantabrian region. This includes: (1) seminars and thematic sessions with representatives from rural stakeholders, media, NGOs, regional administrations, and the scientific community to examine social perceptions, management challenges, and communication strategies; (2) technical processes aimed at refining existing decision-making protocols to improve the interpretation of these events, data collection, and intervention actions. We will present the main findings and shared recommendations arising from this collaborative process at the conference, showcasing an integrated approach to human–bear coexistence.