This weekend in the Liss Valley, between Luchon and the Hautes-Pyrenees, a hiker found himself within ten meters of Nere, the oldest bear in the Pyrenees.
“I never thought I would see one in my life.” This weekend on his Instagram profile, Renaud Guezelle, a tourist, posted a video of an encounter that was as extraordinary as it was impressive. At the bend of a bush, in the Lys Valley, near Luchon, this nature lover came face to face with Nere, a brown bear.
Néré is the oldest bear in the Pyrenees, he was born in 1997 to a Slovenian female who was already pregnant at the time of his reintroduction. As a result, he is one of the most imposing, and the impact of his presence is also enhanced by his dark, almost menacing fur. But as we see in the video, if the bear does not run away, as it usually does in the presence of people, it does not appear aggressive.
Nere sensed the tourist’s presence, and after a few seconds of glancing at Renaud Gouzel, who allowed himself to whisper, the bear left quietly. A rare encounter that ends well. If bear attacks are rare, if not non-existent, in the Pyrenees, coming face-to-face with a mother and her cubs, surprisingly, could have resulted in a much less pleasant encounter.
