Being a keen nature photographer and having a life-long affinity with wildlife, relishing the feeling of peace that being in wild places brings me, I was incensed by the plans afoot to build another ski resort in the Cantabrian mountains and created the petition Save Spanish Bears! How sad it would be to look around these mountains without the knowledge that large carnivores live here too.
I have subsequently read a great deal and learned about the biology and ecology of brown bears and wolves, information which will also be found on this website. News on developments will be translated from the Spanish and posted in the relevant sections like a blog.
After wanting to keep the Picos de Europa a secret I've since realised that the way to conservation is through education. So thepicosdeeuropa.com was conceived as a means to that end and a large part of the site is devoted to plants and wildlife. My husband's guided walking, ski touring and snowshoeing holidays in Picos Rock and Snow were obviously going to be included.
With my friend Teresa Farino I have spent many a happy day exploring the hay meadows around the Picos as well as travelling further afield with her and my camera recording animal and plant species as we go.
I am a member of several Spanish conservation organisations, including SEO/Birdlife, Fapas (Fund for the Protection of Wild Animals) and the Fundación Oso Pardo (Brown Bear Foundation), and have written about the Cantabrian brown bear for the Wolves and Humans Foundation, Wildside Holidays nature pages and the Olive Press, a newspaper distributed around Andalucia. Thanks to Nick Lloyd of IberiaNature and members of the forum I have not only been tolerated but actively encouraged to continue my interest in Spain's bears.
