One of France's celebrated and controversial brown bears, introduced from Slovenia, has been found dead in the Pyrenees, reports The Guardian.
Experts say the animal, aged just 11 – who boasted actors Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant as "godparents" – appeared to have fallen.
Balou was in competition with the alpha male of the southern European mountains, 26-year-old Pyros, who is believed to have fathered all other males in the region and is jealously protective of his harem.
Spanish officials are considering castrating or segregating Pyros – one of the oldest bears roaming the mountains – amid fears that his sexual dominance is threatening the genetic diversity of the species.
Pyros had previously excluded Balou from his bear group, leaving the younger male alone. He was frequently spotted wandering huge distances between France and Spain in search of a mate.
"The theory that he fell seems the most probable from the initial information we have been given. He was found in a relatively dangerous area and had injuries to the back and one of his paws consistent with a fall," the local prefecture announced.
The National Office for Hunting and Wild Fauna said it had sent specialists to the area after the Réseau Ours Brun (Brown Bear Network) reported seeing the body of a bear. Experts confirmed it was Balou, named after the clownish bear in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book.
An autopsy is under way to establish the cause of death.
Read more of this report from The Guardian.