our camille who art in heaven
Primitive Basques believed that humankind came from bears. There were no monkeys in this part of the world and the animal that undoubtedly bore most semblance to humans was the bear (it could walk on two legs). Proof of this is that there are still festive rituals in Nafarroa and Zuberoa that are centred on the figure of the bear. In addition to the importance of the bear in carnival celebrations in the villages of Arizkun, Ituren and Zubieta, in recent years another bear has also been among us: Camille. Camille was the last Pyrenean bear. Forest rangers and biologists who observed the bear’s movements over the years believe he died in 2010. Nowadays, bears brought in the more isolated regions of the Pyrenees but that should be excuse for what happened to Camille. In this age of technological advances, where we can build hotels for pets, we have been unable to protect this irreplaceable treasure. in Navarre for the first time in 1997. He was seen eating acorns in the oak woods of the Urralegi gorge near the village of Urzainki. His first “sheep-icide” took place in Uztarrotz a few months later. His first attacks on sheep herds were particularly and bloody. According to several biologists, the stress caused by living alone could have been behind the rage shown in these ferocious attacks. Camille was from the Aspe Valley, which he shared with his brother Claude. That was until some despicable hunters killed Claude in 1994.
Camille became well-known and Yolanda Barcina, then head of the Department of the the local Navarren Government, had to deal with attacks on livestock by both vultures and Camille. Examples of her management are best seen in Oroz’s cartoons
lampooning her in one of the local papers. Priceless indeed. Those who were able to name their price, however, were the livestock farmers who were paid out over a million euro in compensation for the attacks on their flocks. Camille’s forays proved very profitable for some local farmers. While the compensation lasted there was peace, but as soon as they dried up, the bear was worth nothing. Using a boar hunt as an excuse, a French hunter shot Canelle in Urdox 2004. Camille was left without the company of the last she-bear and, alone, stressed, sick and depressed, he disappeared in 2010.
People were able to come up with the sports competition Camille Extreme, the 104 kilometre trekking route called, the Kamiltxo teddy bear...but those who were supposed bear failed miserably. Nothing happened to those who killed the last Pyrenean bear, and nowadays we barely remember Camille at all. Any day now, Canelito, the last-remaining bear with Pyrenean bear gene traces, with turn up shot to death on a mountainside somewhere. The Africans realized a long time ago that a live lion is worth more to them than a dead one. We are still learning that here.
Camille became well-known and Yolanda Barcina, then head of the Department of the the local Navarren Government, had to deal with attacks on livestock by both vultures and Camille. Examples of her management are best seen in Oroz’s cartoons
lampooning her in one of the local papers. Priceless indeed. Those who were able to name their price, however, were the livestock farmers who were paid out over a million euro in compensation for the attacks on their flocks. Camille’s forays proved very profitable for some local farmers. While the compensation lasted there was peace, but as soon as they dried up, the bear was worth nothing. Using a boar hunt as an excuse, a French hunter shot Canelle in Urdox 2004. Camille was left without the company of the last she-bear and, alone, stressed, sick and depressed, he disappeared in 2010.
People were able to come up with the sports competition Camille Extreme, the 104 kilometre trekking route called, the Kamiltxo teddy bear...but those who were supposed bear failed miserably. Nothing happened to those who killed the last Pyrenean bear, and nowadays we barely remember Camille at all. Any day now, Canelito, the last-remaining bear with Pyrenean bear gene traces, with turn up shot to death on a mountainside somewhere. The Africans realized a long time ago that a live lion is worth more to them than a dead one. We are still learning that here.
