Ursus arctos

		Size: from 1.7 to 2.8 m long; height at withers 90 to 110 cm. Weight: up to 360 kg. Distinctive features: bears hibernate: from December to March, they hide away in dry, well-hidden caves. Their body temperature does not fall below 28° or 30°. They sleep soundly but if disturbed, wake up and quickly run off. In the winter, they live off their fat reserves. By the spring, they have lost one third of their pre-hibernation weight!

Reproduction: the female bear raises between one and three cubs alone, though two is most usual. Food: brown bears are omnivorous. For long periods, they eat insects and plants. They love raspberries and bilberries in particular. In summer and early autumn, they need to stock up on proteins: so they then eat fresh or even rotten meat (from small rodents to sheep).

In the Pyrenees: the brown bear is a symbol of the Pyrenees. Considered a pest and for many years hunted for its meat, its fat and its skin, the brown bear is threatened with extinction. In 1996, there were less than ten or so bears in the Béarn. Yet the bear has been used: in the last century, Ariège bear leaders took bears from village to village to be exhibited. The bear, which awakens with the spring, is a symbol of fertility. In the eastern Pyrenees, the Basque country and Navarre, numerous bear festivals are held at the end of the winter. Today, the bear has become the emblem of the wild. There are moves to prevent the bear's extinction, and reintroduction may boost tourism. In the summer of 1996, two females captured in Slovania were released in the region of Melles, Haute-Garonne. They were joined in 1997 by a male named Pyros. One of the females - Melba - was accidentally killed by a hunter.

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