No Therians Show Up at Andorra Park Meetup Amid Social Media Buzz

No therian participants showed up at Prat del Roure park in Escaldes-Engordany for a second social media callout on Sunday afternoon, leaving the site empty of the anticipated gathering.

The event, initially scheduled for Saturday and rescheduled to 6pm Sunday via viral posts on platforms like TikTok, drew only about 20 curious teenagers aged 12 to 15. Families with children played outdoors, while others walked dogs, restoring the park's typical weekend routine without any disruptions. This followed Saturday's larger turnout of around 200 people—though sources vary slightly, with some reporting 50—who arrived out of intrigue but encountered no therians either. The promoting account had disappeared, effectively postponing both meetups.

Therians identify spiritually or psychologically with a specific animal, known as their "theriotype," without believing their physical body is animalistic. The trend, originating in 1990s online forums, has gained traction on TikTok, particularly among adolescents, with similar gatherings occurring across Spain and elsewhere over the weekend. Participants sometimes adopt animal-like movements, masks, or "shifts"—intense connection moments—as self-expression.

Local reactions mixed curiosity with mockery. One teenager said they came "to see if they really showed up," while admitting the group aimed to laugh at those "not right in the head." Others called it a "show" unfit for Andorra's norms or indicative of mental health issues requiring psychiatric attention. Neighbor Mercè from Escaldes dismissed it as "a silly social media thing getting too much attention."

Psychologists offered divided views. Tomàs Navarro described it as an adolescent identity issue tied to group belonging needs, potentially signaling deeper problems like personality disorders or social pressure, urging parental concern. Sílvia Palau viewed it more neutrally as a phase, advising families to monitor for isolation without assuming pathology, while cautioning against ridicule that drives further insularity. She stressed maintaining daily routines and setting behavioral limits.

No incidents occurred in Andorra, unlike some Spanish cases involving police intervention amid harassment concerns.