A second bear is to be put down in
the northern region of Trentino after the one that killed a
26-year-old trail runner last week, the provincial government of
Trento said Thursday.
The bear, an 18-year-old female tagged as MJ5, attacked a
39-year-old male hiker on March 5, in the Rabbi Valley woods, a
few kilometres from Mt Peller where runner Andrea Papi was
mauled to death by 17-year-old female bear JJ4 on April 5, said
provincial President Maurizio Fugatti.
He said that environmental agency ISPRA had issued a favourable
opinion on putting down MJ5. as well as JJ4.
The case of the deadly bear attack has made headlines in Italy
and around the world. Papi was the first Italian to be killed by
a bear in modern times.
In June 2022 JJ4 attacked two people, a father and son, on Mt.
Peller.
The provincial government had issued an order for the animal to
be killed but it was overturned by a court.
A radio collar was put on the bear but its battery is flat and
no longer transmits signals regarding Jj4's whereabouts.
The 17-year-old animal was born in Trento after the mating of
two bears brought to Italy from Slovenia in 2000 and 2001 as
part of the Life Ursus programme to repopulate the area's
then-dwindling brown-bear population.
The Trentino bear population has since surged to around 100 and
many animals are becoming increasingly bold, with close
encounters increasingly frequent.
The family of Papi, who was killed by the bear while running in
the woods near the Alpine town of Caldes, intend to sue the
State and the Autonomous Province of Trento over Life Ursus.
Bears may be moved from Trentino to other parts of Italy after
the death of Papi, the environment ministry said Tuesday.
Province of Trento President Fugatti last week issued an order
for the bear that killed Papi to be identified and eliminated.
Photo: an archive image of a bear.
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