Wolves and bears in Northern Spain – information wanted
Hi all,
I’ve been planning a trip to Northern Spain for early October and would love to get some info on the best places to try for wolves and bear. The viewpoints in Somiedo seem pretty self-explanatory, but I’m finding it really hard to track down any reliable info on viewpoints for wolves in Palentina / Riaño. We’ll be travelling independently and speak decent Spanish, but if this just isn’t doable without a guide then would love to hear recommendations.
In summary:
- Any coordinates for wolves would be much appreciated
- Is early October too late for bear, and are the Somiedo viewpoints the best place?
- As a rogue addition, does anyone know of any cetacean watching trips doable in the same week? We’re happy to drive
If anyone has any general advice / info it’d be much appreciated.
Spectacled bear photo from Ecuador last year.
P.S Jon & Charles, big fan of the podcast, thanks for the endless entertainment for my morning commute.
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Tad Owen
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Eduardo Ruiz
Hi! I don’t know about Riaño/Palentina but in “Valle del Valdeon” which is around 1.5 hours away from where you are asking there is a guide called Iñigo who operates a company called Valdeon Wild that specializes in wolf watching, i am not sure about his english level but you mentioned you speak decent spanish. He normally tracks the new wolf dens during the month of July and from August organizes the tours. I have been in contact with him for a while and basically the experience depends totally of where the wolves are denning each season, last year they were denning on an open valley and they had 100% guaranteed sightings including the new puppies playing whereas a few years ago they were denning in a difficult to reach/see ridge and they basically had to wait at the bottom just hoping for one of the wolves to go hunting and cross their viewpoint which wasn’t as reliable. I would recommend to contact him and check how are the conditions this season. In addition, please note that the Spain governement recently allowed hunting of wolves again and many have been killed by farmers the last few months so look for up to date information wherever you decide to go.