ARCHIVED - Body of young brown bear found in Asturias to be examined for possible poisoning
The bear, believed to be around 18 months old, is the second to have been found dead this month in the region in northern Spain.
The body of a young brown bear was found on a track in Cangas de Narcea, Asturias, on Tuesday (15 June).
The bear weighed about 20 kilos and was around one and a half years old. It had been dead for two or three days, according to initial reports.
Environmental officers with sniffer dogs combed the surrounding area but found no traces of poison, Asturias regional government sources reported.
A post-mortem examination will be carried out at the Regional Agri-Food Research and Development Service facilities to determine the cause of the death.
The brown bear has been a protected species in Spain since 1973 and is still in danger of extinction, though there are now around 300 bears in the Cantabrian mountains and 50 in the Pyrenees.
However, there have been complaints in recent years from livestock farmers over attacks on their herds, meaning poisoning could be a possibility in this case and in that of another bear also found dead in Asturias earlier this month.
Investigators will also have noted that the two bears’ deaths come shortly after a woman was severely injured in Cangas del Narcea at the end of May when she was attacked by a bear while on a walk.
Reports of bears attacking humans in Spain are few and far between, and experts said that it was probably a male on heat and that they did not think the animal was aggressive or that there would be any further problems.