Bears on Our Doorstep: The Unlikely Comeback of Cantabrian Brown Bears The news that conservation efforts have helped Cantabrian brown bears recover from the brink of extinction in northern Spain is a heartening tale of nature's resilience.
However, it also raises important questions about coexistence and responsible tourism. In the 1980s, this subspecies was all but extinct in Asturias, with only a handful of individuals reported.
The decline was largely due to habitat loss, hunting, and poaching, which reduced their population to just 60 bears across the Cantabrian mountain range.