" A single invisible bear transforms a whole mountain range, he covers it with another glow. 

He gives relief to each bush, which now has a hidden backside. "

(Baptiste Morizot)

" He was somewhere up there to remind me that not everything that exists is necessarily visible, 

that you can't understand everything, grasp everything and take it with you. 

And not seeing it satisfied me. 

I was leaving behind something that I had neither seen nor touched 

but had been close enough to feel its presence. 

This is what it feels like to go down the mountain." 

(Paolo Cognetti)

" People familiar with the presence of large carnivores know how to adapt to them, 

but because these large carnivores were gone for so long, 

we have forgotten how to share our living space with large, hairy and potentially dangerous animals. 

When large carnivores reappear, we have to adapt our way of taking care of livestock again."

(John Linnell)

" La force de l’ours repose dans la forêt qu’il protège.  "

(Proverbe nord amérindien)

“Where the grizzly can walk, the earth is healthy and whole.” 

(Lynne Seus)

" Where grizzly bears walk the land, other plant and animal species are healthier. "

" Few animals have captured the imagination like brown bears. 

They can stand on two legs, walk on the soles of their feet, 

pick things up with their “fingers,” and often eat what we eat. 

This establishes a similarity to our own way of life."

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/brown-bear

  “ The future is ours to win. 

But to get there we can’t just stand still... ”  

(Barack Obama)

« Dressé tel un rocher brun-roux, immobile et silencieux, Tyr contempla son domaine pendant de longues minutes. Comme tous les grizzlys, il avait de petits yeux très écartés et sa vue ne portait pas très loin. Repérer une chèvre des montagnes ou un mouflon à six ou sept cents mètres ne lui posait pas de problème, mais au-delà de cette distance le monde n'était plus qu'un immense flou mystérieux inondé de soleil ou noyé dans l'obscurité de la nuit et qu'il parcourait en se guidant principalement de son ouïe et son odorat. »

(Le Grizzly, James Oliver Curwood)

The Pyrenean brown bear

Although, as a whole, the brown bear species (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) is secure and classified as "Least Concern" by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with relatively large sizes and an expansive range, many brown bear populations, especially in Europe, remain threatened due to their small size, isolation and conflicting coexistence with humans.

The species almost went extinct in Europe in the 20th century due to habitat destruction and fragmentation, as well as excessive hunting, and is now found in small, isolated populations in Central, Northern and Western Europe. 

One of the most endangered populations is located in the Pyrenees massif, on the border between France, Andorra and Spain. Only five relic individuals remained in the western side of the mountain range in 1995. 

In an attempt to save the population, four translocations of bears originated from Slovenia totalizing 11 individuals were organized in 1996–1997, 2006, 2016 and 2018 (Quenette et al. 2019). 

As a result, over the last two decades, the Pyrenean population of bears has increased regularly thanks to regular reproduction events, reaching a minimum of 83 individuals in 2024, ranging over 7,100 km² km² (Sentilles et al. 2024). 

But the fate of this critically endangered population (IUCN 2009, 2017) is still uncertain. First, the high consanguinity, geographic isolation and small size of the Pyrenean brown bear population make it particularly vulnerable to demographic, environmental and genetic stochasticities (Chapron et al. 2009; Le Maho et al. 2013; Beaumelle 2017). 

In addition, conflicting attitudes towards bear presence persist among some local stakeholders, due to livestock depredations and threat to human safety (Chapron et al. 2014; Piédallu et al. 2016). 

Project goals

At the request of the French Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB), through the Brown Bear Network (ROB) and in collaboration with its counterparts in Aragon, Catalonia, Navarre and Andorra, is responsible for annual monitoring of the brown bear population in the Pyrenees. 

The work of collecting field data and analysing results for expertises and scientific research projects is organised by our Bear Team from the "Conservation and Management of Species at Stake" service (SEE) of the Department of Research and Scientific Support (DRAS) of the OFB, for which I work as a researcher and a terrestrial large carnivore project leader.

Our main aim is to monitor population size and trends, distribution, reproduction events and genetic diversity of the Pyrenean brown bear, using non-invasive field methods in order to inform management decision-making and monitor population conservation status.

In the French Pyrenees, monitoring of the brown bear population relies primarily on non-invasive field methods. These can be based on monitoring in a manner that is systematic (i.e. transect sampling combined with baited hair traps and automatically triggered camera traps, and specific planned operations) or opportunistic (i.e. collection of bear data or samples by any mountain users such as hikers with no specific sampling design, as well as all reported putative bear damages on livestock and beehives; Bellemain et al. 2005, De Barba et al. 2010b, Sentilles et al. 2020). 

More than 400 professionals and volunteers from the Brown Bear Network (ROB) gathered bear sign data in the French Pyrenees, comprising hair, tracks, photos and videos from camera traps, attacks on livestock and beehives, scats and other cues (e.g. visual observations, scratches on trees). Records of all bear signs collected annually in the Pyrenees can be found on the InfoOurs website.

Since 2014, we have incorporated a scat-detection dog in our scat sampling effort (Sentilles et al. 2021).

Individual identification of bears is accomplished by the genetic analysis of hair and scats, as well as visual evidence (colouration, scars, GPS collars, or VHF ear tag transmitters) obtained by remote cameras (Sentilles et al. 2023; Vanpé et al. 2022).

As the Pyrenean brown bear population is transboundary and occupies a highly politically and administratively fragmented landscape, ranging across 2 administrative regions, divided in 6 different counties in France, and 3 autonomous regions and 1 county with specific autonomous status in Spain, we rely on cross-border multi-scale cooperation efforts to monitor the population (Piédallu et al. 2016). The main objective of the Group for the Transborder Monitoring of the Pyrenean Brown Bear (GSTOP), created in 2009, is thus the regional harmonization of population monitoring protocols. 

The monitoring of the Pyrenean brown bear population consists in an annual estimate of :

• the geographical range of the population and its evolution over time,

• the size and main demographic parameters of the population (age structure, sex ratio, number of births and deaths),

• the general demographic trend of the population (in particular the evolution over time).

Based on this monitoring, we publish annually a report (Rapport annuel de suivi de la population d'ours brun dans les Pyrénées) presenting the monitoring methods and main results of the year (Sentilles et al. 2023). The results obtained serve to assess the conservation status of the population and inform wildlife and habitat manager decisions.

The results obtained also serve as a basis for various scientific studies performed essentially by researchers from the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) and their French and european academic partners (see below), as well as Spanish colleagues. 

In 2022, we created the Research Network on Brown bear in the Pyrenees (ROPE). Its main objective is to promote research collaborations among European researchers, technicians and students working on Pyrenean brown bear. 

We also aim at conducting research on the ecology of the Pyrenean brown bear population and its coexistence with human activities that will provide management authorities with scientifically based knowledge to meet the main challenges (e.g., social acceptance, habitat fragmentation, consanguinity) facing this population and will inform conservation and management decisions.

Below, I listed our main research projects on the Pyrenean brown bear populations.

• Role of brown bears in the functioning and resilience of Pyrenean ecosystems: (ECOSYBEAR project)

Role of brown bears as a mobile link agent in the dispersal and co-dispersal of seeds, mycorhizes, as well as in the nutrient fluxes through landscape.

Master 1 thesis of Benjamin Canut (2020).

PhD project (2022-2025) of Grégoire Pauly (UR EFNO-INRAE).

Collaboration with Tanguy Daufresne (Eco&Sols-INRAE), Christophe Baltzinger (INRAE), Mélanie Roy (UPS), Amaia Iribar-Pelozuelo (EDB-CNRS).

Trophic and non-trophic interactions of brown bears with other species (letal and behavioural predation effects, facilitation through carrion deposition and bark wound, competition for food, trophic cascades).

Master 2 thesis of Fabien Marques (2022).

Master 1 thesis of Matilde Weihss (2023).

Master 2 thesis Samuel Delorme (2024).

Master 1 thesis Théodore Sheth (2024).

Collaboration with Tanguy Daufresne (Eco&Sols-INRAE), Christophe Baltzinger (INRAE), Mélanie Roy (UPS), Jules Chiffard, Sonia Saïd et Eric Baubet (OFB), Jean-Marie Savoie (INP Purpan), Ilham Bentaled (Univ. Montpellier).

• Developping new metrics for monitoring non-invasively the Pyrenean brown bear population: (BIGCARs project)

Bayesian Pollock's closed robust design (PCRD) Capture-Recapture models. (Vanpé et al. 2022)

Collaboration with Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS).

Spatially-explicit Capture-Recapture models 

Master 2 thesis (2021) and PhD thesis of Maëlis Kervellec (2021-2024).

Collaboration with Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS), Ana Sanz-Perez (Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany) and Cyril Milleret (Norwegian University of Life Sciences).

Genetic diversity and effective population size

Master 2 theses of Camille Beaumelle and Carla Bassi.

Collaboration with Marta de Barba (LECA-CNRS).

Effect of inbreeding on brown bear cub survival and litter size

PhD of Léa Auclair (MNHN, 2023-2026).

Collaboration with Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS), Alexandre Robert (CESCO-MNHN) and Cyril Milleret (Norwegian University of Life Sciences).

Demo-genetic viability of the Pyrenean brown bear population

PhD of Léa Auclair (MNHN, 2023-2026).

Collaboration with Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS), Alexandre Robert (CESCO-MNHN) and Cyril Milleret (Norwegian University of Life Sciences).

• Evaluation of the connectivity of Pyrenean landscapes for brown bear: (CONNECT project)

Master 1 thesis of Tiffany Stromboni (2021).

Master 2 thesis and PhD thesis of Maëlis Kervellec (2021). (Kervellec et al. 2023)

Master 1 thesis of Nathan Dumortier (2022). (Dumortier et al. Submitted to Naturae)

Collaboration with Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS), Cyril Milleret (Norwegian University of Life Sciences), Jonathan Carruthers-Jones (Univ. of Leeds) and Dani Villero (Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia).

• Depredation behaviours of brown bears in the Pyrenees: (PREDATE project)

Depredation hotspots

PhD from Adrienne Gastineau (2019).

Master 1 thesis of Léa Barriot (2019) and Victorine Demiralp (2020). 

Inter and intra-individual depredation behaviour of the Pyrenean brown bear on livestock.

Master 2 thesis of Louis Maillet (2023).

Test of the relevance of stable isotope (N & C) methods to evaluate the trophic level as well as the importance of wild ungulates vs. livestock in brown bear diet in the Pyrenees 

Master 1 thesis of Matilde Weihss (2023).

• Coexistence between bears and humans: (COEXIST project)

Human-bear encounters.

Master 2 thesis of Clémence Béteille (2023).

• Spatial ecology of the Pyrenean brown bear:

Habitat use

Master 1 of  Florian Delecroix (2020).

Collaboration with Nathan Ranc (CEFS-INRA).

Dispersal behaviours

Master 1 of Yon Halotel (2022).

Impacts of human activities on bear behaviours and movements.

Master 2 thesis of Samuel Longchamp (2024).

Collaboration with Andrea Corradini, Victor Sazatornil (CTFC), Francesca Cagnacci (Istituto Agrario San Michele All'Adige, Italy) and Sarah Bauduin (OFB). 

CONTACT

BOOK CHAPTERS ON BROWN BEAR OR CARNIVORES

2024

Vanpé C. & Veron G. (2024) Rôle dans les écosystèmes. In: SAVOURÉ-SOUBELET A., AULAGNIER S., HAFFNER P., MAILLE A., MOUTOU F., RICHARD-HANSEN C., RUETTE S. & VERON G.  (coord.). Atlas des mammifères sauvages de France volume 3 : Carnivores et Primates. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris ; OFB (Patrimoines naturels ; 85), pp. 292-296.

2023

Camarra J.J & Vanpé C. (2023) Fiche espèce : Ours brun. In: Brusten T. (coord.). Faune forestière française. Guide écologique illustré. Tome 1 – Mammifères, oiseaux, reptiles et amphibiens. CNPF-IDF, Paris, pp. 105.

MY PUBLICATIONS ON BROWN BEAR

In preparation, 

Pauly G, et al. The role of Brown Bear in the dispersal of mycorrhiza, endophytes and pathogens together with their hosting plants. In preparation.

Bassi C., Vanpé C., Beaumelle C., Sentilles J., Quenette P-Y., Palazón S., Jordana I.A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M.M., Solà de la Torre J. & de Barba M. A 16-year genetic assessment of the effectiveness of conservation translocations for the recovery of the critically endangered Pyrenean brown bear population. To be submitted to Conservation Biology or Biological Conservation.

Under review or submitted

Kervellec M., Gimenez O., Sanz Pérez A., Zhang W., Sollmann R., Bischof R., Dupont P., de Valpine P., Daniel Turek P., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J.**, Sazatornil V., Palazón S., Afonso Jordana I., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M.M., Solà de la Torre J. & Milleret C. A non-Euclidean movement model to quantify landscape connectivity with open spatial capture recapture models. Submitted to Ecology.

Kervellec M., Gimenez O., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J., Palazón S., Jordana I.A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M.M. & Milleret C. Unravelling the effects of heterogeneity in space use on estimates of connectivity and population size: Insights from spatial capture-recapture modelling. Under revision for publication in PCI Ecology.

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Roy M., Clavier Y., Chevalier A., Sentilles J., Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. Assessing endozoochorous seed dispersal from consumption to germination using Brown Bear faeces. Under revision for publication in Ecology and Evolution.

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Roy M., Quenette P-Y., Roy M., Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. An overview of major omnivore roles in ecosystems: the case of bears (Familly: Ursidae). Submitted to European Journal of Wildlife Research. 

2025

Pauly G., Roy M., Vanpé C., Sentilles J., Quenette P.-Y., Benoiston A.-S., Moreau L., Iribar A., Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. Sex- but not age-related biological needs shape the endangered Pyrenean Brown Bear population diet: new insights from faecal metabarcoding. Biological Conservation (in press).

Auclair L., Chapron G., Quenette P.-Y., Vanpé C. & Robert A. (2025). Inbreeding depression in the Pyrenean brown bear population. Biological Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.70123 

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Roy M., Sentilles J., Chapelin-Viscardi J-D, Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. (2025). Dung beetles, but not rodents, contribute to Brown Bear faeces removal, disaggregation and secondary seed dispersal. Ecosphere 16(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70382

Dumortier N., Carruthers-Jones J., Sentilles J., Quenette P-Y., Lemaître P-L. & Vanpé C. (2025). Connectivité fonctionnelle des paysages pyrénéens pour l'ours brun. Naturae (in press).

Sanz-Pérez A., Sazatornil V., Palazón S., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J., Kervellec M., Milleret C., López-Bao J.V., Jordana I.A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M.M., Solà de la Torre J. & Sollmann R. (2025). Mapping sex- and age-structure reveals lonely males at the front in an expanding brown bear population. Biological Conservation 306: 111122.

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Roy M., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J., Dumas Y., Chevalier A., Chevalier R., Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. (202). Endozoochorous plant dispersal by brown bear (Ursus arctos) in the Pyrénées: angiosperms but also ferns and mosses and the importance of disaggregation agent. Botany Letters 172(1), 119–131.

2024

2023

Couturier T, Bauduin S, Astruc G, Blanck A, Canonne C, Chambert T, Chiffard J, Cosquer A, Curtet L, Dortel E, Drouet-Hoguet N, Duchamp C, Francesiaz C, Grente O, Jailloux A, Kervellec M, Lebreton J-D, Louvrier J, Marescot L, Navas M-L, Perrot C, Poulet N, Quenette P-Y, Salas M, Souchay G, Vanpé C, Besnard A, Gimenez O. (2023). Building spaces of interactions between research and implementation: Case studies with biodiversity monitoring in national parks and management of large carnivores in France. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 4: e12245.

Kervellec M, Milleret C, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y, Sentilles J, Palazón S, Jordana IA, Jato R, Elósegui Irurtia MM & Gimenez O. (2023) Transnational non-invasive monitoring and spatial capture-recapture models reveal strong effects of humans on connectivity for the Pyrenean brown bear. Biological Conservation 278: 109875.

2022

Vanpé C, Piédallu B, Quenette P-Y, Sentilles J, Queney G, Palazón S, Jordana IA, Jato R, Elósegui Irurtia MM, Solà de la Torre J & Gimenez O. (2022) Estimating abundance of a recovering transboundary brown bear population with capture-recapture models. Peer Community Journal 2 (2022), article e71. 

2021

Sentilles J., Vanpé C., Quenette P.Y. (2021). Benefits of incorporating a scat-detection dog into wildlife monitoring: a case study of Pyrenean brown bear. Journal of Vertebrate Biology, Special Issue Dogs and conservation: current and emerging considerations 69(3): 20096. 

2019

Quenette P.-Y., Jonozovic M., Marinsic A., Camarra J.-J., Guinot-Ghestem M., Sentilles J., Steinmetz J., Vanpé C. & Alban N. (2019) First translocation of females in the French Western Pyrenees: a new step in the long process of brown bear restoration in the Pyrenees Mountains. International Bear News 28(1): 11-13.

MY TECHNICAL REPORTS ON BROWN BEAR

2025

Sentilles J, Lemaitre P-L, Desbarax R, Steinmetz J, Vanpé C & Quenette P-Y (2025) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2024. OFB / DRAS / SEE.

2024

Kaczensky, P., Ranc, N., Hatlauf, J., Payne, J.C., ... , Vanpé, C., et al. (2024) Large carnivore distribution maps and population updates 2017 – 2022/23. Report to the European Comission under contract N°09.0201/2023/907799/SER/ENV.D.3 “Support for Coexistence with Large Carnivores”, “B.4 Update of the distribution maps”. IUCN/SSC Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE) and Istituto di Ecologia Applicata (IEA).

Sentilles J, Lemaître P-L, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2024) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2023. OFB / DRAS.

2023

Sentilles J, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2023) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2022. OFB / DRAS.

2022

Sentilles J, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2022) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2021. OFB / DRAS.

2021

Sentilles J, Lemaître P-L, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2021) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2020. OFB / DRAS / EO.

Vanpé C, Sentilles J, Lemaître P-L, Desbarax R. , Bibal D. , Darmani G. , Labal P., Quenette P-Y (2021) Cartographie quinquennale (2016-2020) de l’aire de répartition de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. OFB / DRAS / EO.

2020

Sentilles J, Lemaître P-L, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2020) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2019. OFB / DRAS / EO.

Vanpé C, Sentilles J, Lemaître P-L, Quenette P-Y (2020) Cartographie quinquennale (2015-2019) de l’aire de répartition de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. OFB / DRAS / EO.

2019

Vanpé C, Sentilles J, Camarra J-J, Quenette P-Y (2019) Cartographie quinquennale (2014-2018) de l’aire de répartition de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. ONCFS / DRE / EO.

Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y. (2019) Evaluations de l’état de conservation de la population d’ours brun dans les Pyrénées pour le Rapportage DHFF et LCIE.

Sentilles J, Camarra J-J, Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2019) Suivi de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. Rapport annuel - Année 2018. ONCFS / DRE / EO.

2018

Vanpé C et al. (2018). Demande d'autorisation d'introduction dans le milieu naturel de deux Ours bruns (Ursus arctos) femelles dans le département des Pyrénées-Atlantiques à la fin de l’été ou à l’automne 2018. ONCFS.

Vanpé C, Quenette P-Y (2018) Notion de taille efficace de population d'ours brun pour obtenir une population viable dans les Pyrénées. Note technique NT/2018/DRE/UPAD/18, ONCFS – DRAS (30 Novembre 2018).

Vanpé C, Sentilles J, Camarra J-J, Quenette P-Y (2018) Cartographie quinquennale (2013-2017) de l’aire de répartition de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. ONCFS / DRE / EO.

Camarra J-J., Sentilles J., Vanpé C. & Quenette P-Y. (2018). Suivi de l'Ours brun dans les Pyrénées. Rapport annuel. Année 2017. ONCFS / DRE / Equipe Ours - Réseau Ours Brun.

2017

Vanpé C, Sentilles J, Camarra J-J, Quenette P-Y (2017) Cartographie quinquennale (2012-2016) de l’aire de répartition de l’Ours brun dans les Pyrénées françaises. ONCFS / DRE / EO.

MY COMMUNICATIONS ON BROWN BEAR

2025

Pauly G., Roy M., Vanpé C., Sentilles J., Quenette P.-Y., Benoiston A.-S., Moreau L., Iribar A., Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. Do sex, age or ecological needs shape an endangered Brown Bear population diet? New insights from faecal metabarcoding. International Wildlife Congress, Lillehammer, Norvège, 01-04/09/2025. Poster par G. Pauly.

2024

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Roy M., Chevalier A., Chevalier R., Dumas Y., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J., Delorme S., Iribar-Pelozuelo A., Benoiston A-S., Moreau L., Daufresne T., Baltzinger C. 2024. From consumption to germination: analysis of the whole seed dispersal process by Eurasian brown bear. Biennial meeting of the French Society of Ecology and Evolution, Lyon, France, 21-25 Octobre 2024. Présentation par G. Pauly.

Pauly G, Vanpé C, Roy M, Quenette P-Y, Roy M, Sentilles J, Dumas Y, Chevalier R, Daufresne T, Baltzinger C. Seed dispersal by brown bear: Shrubs, herbaceous and the importance of destructuring. 8th Frugivores and Seed Dispersal Symposium: Frugivores and Seed Dispersal: Unifying ecology, evolution and conservation in a human-modified world, 04-08/08/2024, Ilhéus, Brésil. Présentation par G. Pauly.

Vanpé C, Pauly G, Baltzinger C., Daufresne T, Sentilles J, Quenette P-Y, Roy M. Investigating endozoochorous seed dispersal: lessons from the Pyrenean brown bear. 8th Frugivores and Seed Dispersal Symposium: Frugivores and Seed Dispersal: Unifying ecology, evolution and conservation in a human-modified world, 04-08/08/2024, Ilhéus, Brésil. Présentation.

Pauly G., Delorme S., Daufresne T., Quenette P.-Y., Pelozuelo A., Benoiston A.-S., Moreau L., Baltzinger C., Sentilles J., Vanpé C., Roy M. Exploring re-introduced Pyrenean bear diet and their importance for plant and fungi potential (co) dispersal. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of plant–fungal invasions, 45th New Phytologist symposium, 26–29/06/2024, University of Campinas, Brésil. Présentation orale par M. Roy.

2023

Kervellec M., Milleret C., Vanpé C., Quenette P.-Y., Sentilles J., Palazón S., Jordana I. A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M. M. & Gimenez O. Mapping connectivity from non-invasive surveys with Spatial Capture-Recapture models, A focus on the Pyrenean brown bear population. EURING, 17-21/04/2023, Montpellier, France. Présentation orale.

Dumortier N., Carruthers-Jones J. & Vanpé C. Functional connectivity of the Pyrenean landscapes for the brown bear. Workshop ‘Brown bear and transport infrastructure: impacts and potential mitigation measures’, 17/04/2023, Món Natura Pirineus – Esterri d’Àneu, Catalogne, Espagne. Présentation orale.

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Roy M., Sentilles J., Quenette P-Y., Iribar-Pelozuelo A., Daufresne T. & Baltzinger C. L’ours disperse t-il toutes les plantes qu’il consomme ? 2023. 35ème colloque Biotechnocentre. Nouan-Le-Fuzelier, France, 19-20 Octobre 2023. Poster.

Auclair L., Gimenez O., Chapron G., Quenette P-Y., Vanpé C. & Robert A. Demo-genetic viability of the Pyrenean brown bear population. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

Ranc N., Vanpé C. & Quenette P-Y. The role of spatial memory in home range formation and landscape connectivity in the Pyrenean brown bear. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

Pauly G., Vanpé C., Daufresne T., Roy M., Sentilles J., Iribar-Pelozuelo A. & Baltzinger C. Brown bear diet and dispersal of seeds and mycorrhizal spores across pyrenean landscapes. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

 Béteille C., Sentilles J., Steinmetz J., Quenette P-Y. & Vanpé C. Characteristics of visual observations of the Pyrenean brown bear and behavioural responses of bears to human encounters. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

Kervellec M., Milleret C., Sanz-Pérez A., Dupont P., Bischof R., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J., Palazón S.,Jordana I. A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M. M & Gimenez O. Modelling dispersal connectivity for the Pyrenean brown bear population from non-invasive monitoring and spatial capture recapture models. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

Sanz Pérez A., Sazatornil V, Palazón S., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J., Gimenez O., Kervellec M., Milleret C., López-Bao J. V., Jordana I. A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M. M, Solà de la Torre J. & Rahel Sollmann. Demographic and spatial structure of an expanding brown bear population. 2nd ROPE workshop, 9-11 Octobre 2023, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

2022

Kervellec M., Milleret C., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J. & O. Gimenez. Assessing the contribution of outlier individuals to landscape connectivity with spatial capture-recapture models and finite mixtures. International Statistical Ecology Conference (ISEC), 26/06/2022, Le Cap, Afrique du Sud. Présentation orale.

Kervellec M., Milleret C., Vanpé C., Quenette P-Y., Sentilles J.,  Palazón S., Jordana I. A., Jato R., Elósegui Irurtia M. M. & Gimenez O. Transnational non-invasive monitoring and spatial capture-recapture models reveal strong effects of humans on connectivity for the Pyrenean brown bear. 1st ROPE workshop, 6 Octobre 2022, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

Dumortier N., Carruthers-Jones J. & Vanpé C. Functional connectivity for the brown bear in the Pyrenees. 1st ROPE workshop, 6 Octobre 2022, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

Vanpé C. ECOSYBEAR program : Role of brown bear in the functioning of Pyrenean ecosystems. 1st ROPE workshop, 6 Octobre 2022, OFB Villeneuve de Rivière.

2019

Vanpé C, Palazón S, Jonozovič M, Afonso I, Jato R, Sola J, Colomo RA, Batet T, Camarra J-J, Sentilles J, Guinot-Ghestem M & Quenette P-Y. The conservation success story of a cross-border large carnivore population through two decades of European multi-scale cooperation efforts. 29th International Congress for Conservation Biology, 21-25 Juillet 2019, Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie. Présentation orale.

2018

Quenette P-Y, Palazón S, Afonso I, Jato R, Sola J, Colomo RA, Jonozovič M, Batet T, Camarra J-J, Sentilles J & Vanpé C. Doing together in a fragmented administrative landscape: 20 years of brown bear conservation in Pyrenees. 26th International Conference on Bear Research and Management (IBA), 16-21 Septembre 2018, Lubjana, Slovénie. Présentation orale par P-Y Quenette.

Palazón S, Quenette P-Y, Afonso I, Jato R, Sola J, Colomo RA, Batet A, Sentilles J, Camarra J-J, Vanpé C, Garreta X, Guillén J, Mir S, Gonçalves S & Espinós N. the encouraging but still uncertain fate of one of the most endangered brown bear population in Europe: conservation status of the Pyrenean brown bear population. 26th International Conference on Bear Research and Management (IBA), 16-21 Septembre 2018, Lubjana, Slovénie. Poster présenté par Santi Palazón.

Vanpé C, Bombillon B, Sentilles J, Camarra J-J, Courtois EA & Quenette PY. Morphological identification of individuals from camera trap photographies: a new promising technique for sampling small populations of bears lacking natural markings. 26th International Conference on Bear Research and Management (IBA), 16-21 Septembre 2018, Lubjana, Slovénie. Poster. 

SUPERVISION OF PhD StudentS

• Grégoire PAULY. 2022-2025. ED Orléans.

Subject: Role of brown bear in the (co)-dispersal of seeds and mycorrhizal spores across Pyrenean landscapes. 

Laboratory: UR EFNO - INRAE. 

Co-supervisors:  Chistophe Baltzinger (UR EFNO-INRAE) et Tanguy Dufresne (UMR Eco&Sols-INRAE).

• Léa AUCLAIR. 2023-2026. MNHN.

Subject: Viability of small populations : the case of the Brown bear (Ursus arctos) of Pyrenees. 

Laboratory: UMR 7204 Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, MNHN.

Co-directors: Alexandre ROBERT (MNHN), Guillaume CHAPRON (Grimsö Wildlife Research Station) et Pierre-Yves QUENETTE (OFB).

SUPERVISION OF MASTER StudentS

 MASTER 2

• Samuel LONGCHAMP 2024. Master 2, Université Grenoble 1. 

Subject: Impact of outdoor activities on Pyrenean brown bear space use. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS. 

Co-supervisors:  Andrea Corradini and Francesca Cagnacci (Fondazione Edmund Mach, Italie).

• Samuel DELORME. 2024. Master 2, Université Claude Bernard - Lyon 1. 

Subject: Chevauchement alimentaire de la mégafaune Pyrénéenne : Approche par métabarcoding. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS. 

Co-supervisors:  Grégoire Pauly (INRAE-UR EFNO) and Mélanie Roy (UPS).

• Clémence BETEILLE. 2023. Master 2, Université de Rennes. 

Subject: Caractéristiques des observations visuelles et réponses comportementales de l’Ours brun des Pyrénées (Ursus arctos arctos) face aux rencontres avec les humains. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS. 

Co-supervisor:  Julien Steinmetz (OFB).

• Louis MAILLET. 2023. Master 2, AgroSup Dijon. 

Subject: Variabilité inter-individuelle du comportement de déprédation de l’ours brun (Ursus arctos) sur cheptel domestique dans les Pyrénées centrales françaises. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS. 

Co-supervisor: Pierre-Yves Quenette (OFB).

• Yon HALOTEL. 2022. Master 2, Université Montpellier. 

Subject: Analyse du comportement de dispersion chez un carnivore solitaire : le cas de l’ours brun dans les Pyrénées. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS – Service Conservation et Gestion des Espèces à enjeux. 

Co-supervisor: Pierre-Yves Quenette (OFB).

• Fabien MARQUES. 2022. Master 2, Université Montpellier. 

Subject: Capacité du réseau de pièges photographiques destinés au suivi de l’Ours brun, à fournir des éléments de caractérisation de la communauté de moyens et grands mammifères dans les Pyrénées. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS – UPADE - Equipe Ours. 

Co-supervisor: Jules CHIFFARD (OFB).

• Carla BASSI. 2021. Master 2, Université Aix-Marseille. 

Subject: Taille efficace et diversité génétique de la population d’ours brun des Pyrénées. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS – UPADE - Equipe Ours. 

Co-supervisor: Pierre-Yves Quenette (OFB).

• Maëlis KERVELLEC. 2021. Master 2, Université de Montpellier et Montpellier SupAgro.

Subject: Estimation des densités d'ours brun dans les Pyrénées à partir des modèles spatialisés de capture-recapture. 

Laboratory: CEFE-CNRS. 

Co-supervisor:  Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS) and Cyril Milleret (Norvegian University of Life Sciences).

 MASTER 1

• Théodore Sheth. 2024. Master 1, Université Montpellier. 

Subject: Capacité des isotopes stables à fournir des éléments de caractérisation des comportements de prédation de l’Ours brun (Ursus arctos) dans le contexte Pyrénéen. 

Laboratory: ISEM. 

Co-supervisors: Jules Chiffard (OFB) and Ilham Bentaled (Univ. Montpellier).

• Matilde WEIHSS. 2023. Master 1, Université Toulouse. 

Subject: Variation individuelle des comportements alimentaires de la population d’ours brun des Pyrénées. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS. 

Co-supervisor: Jules Chiffard (OFB).

• Nathan DUMORTIER. 2021. Master 1, Université Toulouse. 

Subject: Analyse de la connectivité fonctionnelle du paysage du massif Pyrénéen pour l’ours brun.  

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS – UPADE - Equipe Ours. 

Co-supervisor: Jonathan Carruthers-Jones, (University of Leeds). 

• Tiffany STROMBONI. 2021. Master 1, Université Poitier. 

Subject: Vers une étude de la connectivité fonctionnelle chez l'ours brun dans les Pyrénées. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS – UPADE - Equipe Ours. 

Co-supervisor: Pierre-Yves Quenette (OFB).

• Florian DELECROIX. 2020. Master 1, Université Paul Sabatier de Toulouse. 

Subject: Rôle fonctionnel de l’ours brun dans les écosystèmes de montagne pyrénéens : Première exploration par l’étude de l’utilisation des habitats. 

Laboratory: OFB – DRAS – UPADE - Equipe Ours.

• Benjamin CANUT. 2020. Master 1, Université Paul Sabatier de Toulouse. 

Subject: Les Ours : des agents disperseurs de symbioses plantes-champignons ? 

Laboratory: EDB-CNRS and OFB – DRAS – UPADE - Equipe Ours. 

Co-supervisor:  Mélanie Roy (UMR EDB).

MEMBERSHIP IN BEAR SCIENTIFIC NETWORKS

• Réseau Européen de Recherche sur l’Ours brun des Pyrénées (ROPE)

• IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group (BSG) and European Brown Bear Expert Team.

• International Association for Bear Research and Management. 

• Réseau Ours Brun (ROB).

• Groupe de Suivi Transfrontalier de l'Ours dans les Pyrénées (GSTOP).

• Réseau de Recherche sur l’Ours des Pyrénées (ROPE)

RECOMMENDATIONS IN CASE OF MEETING A BEAR