Arcturos (Greek: Αρκτούρος, sometimes stylized as ΑΡΚΤΟΥΡΟΣ) is a non-profit, non-governmental, environmental conservation organization in Greece focused on the protection of wildlife and their natural habitats.
[1] Among their other activities, the organization conducts scientific research, provides veterinary and rehabilitative care to wild animals, and works to reintroduce them into nature.
[10] The star is associated with the Ancient Greek myth of Arcas, a young man who was about to shoot his own mother, Callisto, not realizing she had been turned into a bear.
[1] Despite listings as protected species in both Greek and European Union law, bears and wolves are still killed by humans, out of fear that the animals can harm livestock and cause property damage.
[26][17] The organization also lobbies against road planning that threatens the local environment and plants trees in bald woodland areas in afforestation efforts.
[16][4] The Bear Information Centre in the village of Nymfaio accept visits from the public, where programs promote preventive measures for cooperative living in bear-heavy regions.
[1][4][8] It also monitors bear populations using automatic motion capture systems in the Pindus and Rhodope mountains, as well as via telemetry with transmitter collars.