The subspecies of the Eurasian brown bear lives only in central Italy. Photo: De Agostini editorial
One of the rarest bears in the world has been discovered. gunned down by an Italian villager who claimed to have opened fire on the locally adored animal out of fear for his own safety.
A bear known as Amarena for her love of cherries was killed rifle, on the outskirts of the city of San Benedetto dei Marsi in the Abruzzo region of central Italy.
The incident has sparked outrage and an outpouring of grief among the authorities and conservationists warn that it threatens the future of the species.
< p> Prosecutors began an investigation into the shooting. If a man is found guilty of killing an animal of a protected species, he faces a prison sentence of up to two years.
Amarena was a Marsican bear, a subspecies of the Eurasian brown bear. They are found only in central Italy and only 50 to 60 remain in the wild, making them one of the most endangered bear species in the world.
Amarena was well known to the locals. A few days ago, overjoyed locals used their mobile phones to film a bear and her two cubs walking through the nearby village of San Sebastiano dei Marsi.
Conservationists and officials have said the Marsican bears do not pose a threat to humans. and it was disgusting that Amarena was killed.
Marco Marsilio, President of Abruzzo, called the shooting «incomprehensible», calling it «a very serious act… that causes us pain and anger.»
“Over the years, communities both inside and outside the national park have proven their ability to coexist with bears. The bears in Abruzzo have never posed any threat to people, even when they entered the settlements,” he said.
Mr. Marsilio called the man who killed the bear a «criminal».
A few days ago, local residents filmed a bear in the village of San -Sebastiano dei Marsi. Credit: Reuters/Gemma Di Pietro
Representatives from the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, a vast mountainous area spanning three regions, said the killing was «unjustified» and threatened to take legal action against the man.
< p>the bear was shot just outside the national park.
«I find it hard to believe that it was actually about self-defense,» said Luciano Sammarone, director of the national park. «Amarena never attacked anyone.»
Luciano Di Tizio, president of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Italy, called the killing «a very serious crime» and «a serious blow to the survival prospects of the Marsican bear in the Apennines.»
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The man who shot the bear was identified and questioned by the police.
He is reported to have told them, “I shot because I was scared. I found it on my territory. It was an impulsive, instinctive act.»
Amarena was a particularly prolific female, and her loss will impact the future of the tiny Marsican bear population, officials said.
Rangers were trying to find her two cubs and then decide whether they can survive in the wild on their own.
Over the years, Amarena has had many cubs, one of which was a bear cub. nicknamed Juan Carrito, who became famous in 2021 for breaking into a bakery and devouring trays of freshly baked cookies.
He was also considered something of a local celebrity, but died in a traffic accident in January of this of the year. year.
A blow to the environment and the region
Amarena was “a symbol of the national park and loved by all… and became a star with videos of her appearing in the city [San Benedetto dei Marci] with her cubs as she calmly passed through it before heading back to the city. in the forest,” said animal welfare organization LEAL.
Gian Marco Prampolini, president of the organization, said it also intends to sue the man who shot the bear.
Gilberto Picetto, Italy's environment minister, said the shooting would be thoroughly investigated.
“We need to understand this serious episode and, above all, we must protect the cubs of Amarena,” he said.
The death of a bear is a blow not only to nature conservation, but also to the region.
Images of bears adorn hotels and restaurants within the national park, visitors can take bear-watching tours, bakeries sell bear-shaped cookies, and shops abound with bear T-shirts, fridge magnets and other souvenirs . .
The problem of bears coexisting with humans in Italy escalated earlier this year when a female bear killed a runner in the Dolomites in the north of the country.
p>26- Andrea Papi, a year old, surprised a bear with two cubs as he ran along a forest path one April evening.
His death was the first human killing by a bear in Italy in modern times.
The bears in the Alps and Dolomites are Eurasian brown bears reintroduced from Slovenia and distinct from the Marsican bears found in the Apennines in central Italy.
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