Por Redaccion 
Paca, the Cantabrian brown bear under the care of the Asturias Bear Foundation in the Santo Adriano enclosure, on the Senda del Oso, has been euthanized to «prevent further suffering of the animal.» The Principality of Asturias, through the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Agricultural Policy, authorized the euthanasia of the animal after evaluating the latest veterinary report, which revealed a «significant irreversible deterioration of its physical condition.»
The bear, as indicated in the report, «showed increasing motor difficulties, with a presumptive diagnosis of arthritis,» a problem that worsened last fall. According to the Asturias Bear Foundation, this pathology is common in the species after a certain age. Paca reached 36 years of age while wild brown bears usually do not exceed twenty years of life.
To alleviate the discomfort caused by her health problems, Paca has received different treatments prescribed by the veterinary service in recent years, which has also provided constant medical monitoring to the bear. In recent days, her condition worsened, showing «apparent inability to move, lack of appetite, and anorexia.» Thus, the latest report concluded that «the current situation is not compatible with an acceptable quality of life» for the bear.
SYMBOL OF SPECIES RECOVERY
The rescue of the bear cubs took place in 1989, when Paca and Tola were orphaned after a poacher killed their mother. These two bear cubs were named Paca and Tola, the latter of which passed away in 2018. After a brief period in Vic (Catalonia) and Hosquillo (Cuenca), they returned to Asturias in May 1996. It was then, due to the impossibility of the bears surviving in the wild, that the Asturias Bear Foundation (FOA) took charge of the animals.
Over the years, Paca and Tola have become the «symbol of the fight for the survival of the Cantabrian brown bear.» Their presence in the bear enclosures and their own story «raised awareness and favored the implementation of a plan for the recovery of the species that, however, is still endangered,» as recalled by the FOA.
For over three decades, the Asturias Bear Foundation has combined its research and environmental awareness activities with the care of the bears in the Santo Adriano enclosures.
These facilities were designed to house animals that need a short period of rehabilitation and also as a refuge for Cantabrian brown bear specimens whose reintroduction into the natural environment is not possible. Molina, the female Cantabrian brown bear born in 2013 and whose reintroduction into the wild failed, is the only specimen currently under the care of the Asturias Bear Foundation, in semi-liberty conditions.