There have been several bear attacks on humans in Trentino.
Signs warn of bears in Trentino.
Bruno the brown bear remains stuffed for posterity as a honey thief.
Bears in Trentino: first taken, then shot - Gallery
There have been several bear attacks on humans in Trentino.
Signs warn of bears in Trentino.
Bruno the brown bear remains stuffed for posterity as a honey thief.
The fatal attack on a jogger has startled people in Trentino. Bears are increasingly encountering people in the region. How to deal with the steadily growing population?
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- From a species conservation perspective, the EU-funded "Life Ursus" bear project in Trentino, Italy, is a success.
- However, there are more and more dangerous encounters with humans in the region, which is popular with tourists. The sad highlight was a fatal attack on a 26-year-old jogger in spring 2023.
- Last year, three bears were killed for the first time under a new regulation.
Bears were first resettled in Trentino, Italy - now it's all about shooting. Three bears were killed for the first time last year on the basis of a new regulation. Some of the animals had chased people, others had attacked and injured them, said a spokesperson for the provincial government. "It's a question of safety."
Since the start of the EU-funded "Life Ursus" bear project at the turn of the millennium, the population has grown faster than expected to around 100 animals. There are more and more dangerous encounters with humans in the region north of Lake Garda, which is popular with tourists. The sad highlight was a fatal attack on a 26-year-old jogger in spring 2023.
The authorities pulled the emergency brake. The provincial government under President Maurizio Fugatti of the right-wing Lega party allowed the shooting of up to eight bears a year at the beginning of 2024.
Animal rights activists furious
The decisions to shoot the three bears were examined by experts from the Ministry of the Environment in Rome and found to be permissible, said the spokesperson. Nevertheless, Fugatti is facing criminal charges from animal rights activists over the killing of bears. In December, the opposition Five Star Movement also denounced him. A letter had also been sent to the EU Commission so that an investigation could be carried out in Trentino. Bears are strictly protected.
In 2013, the province of Trento proudly announced that "Life Ursus" had been launched just in time; the brown bear was threatened with extinction in the Alps. Since 2014, there have been at least nine bear attacks on humans.
Fear travels with them
Since then, the debate about the coexistence of humans and animals has intensified: on the one hand, concerns from local residents, demands for protection and criticism of the "Life Ursus" project - on the other, animal rights activists who insist on the bears' right to live.
Signs in Italian and English warn people along hiking trails north of Lake Garda. Locals take pepper spray with them or tie bells to their rucksacks to draw attention to themselves - even though some experts believe that the animals could associate the sound with alpine cattle - i.e. possible food - and be attracted all the more.
Fear travels with them, especially as bears sometimes appear close to settlements. A few years ago, a video of a driver following a bear on the road not far from the popular surfing spot of Torbole and filming the animal caused a stir. After a French holidaymaker was injured by an animal in the summer of 2024, some fear for tourism.
Bear issue occupies the courts
The bear Gaia (JJ4, descendant of mother Jurka and Jose), who killed the young jogger, has a relevant family history. She is a sister of the "problem bear" Bruno (JJ1), who became famous in Bavaria, ventured dangerously close to settlements and was shot down in 2006. Another brother - JJ3 - was killed in Switzerland and was also classified as dangerous. Mother Jurka has been living in an enclosure in the German Black Forest for many years - where Gaia is soon to be housed.
Gaia had already attracted attention several times before the fatal attack and had injured two people. However, her removal from the wild for safety reasons - by killing or capturing her - was rejected by the courts. She remained free.
Finally, on April 5, 2023, she attacked the jogger. Once again, judges lifted the kill order. She was sent to the Casteller animal care center not far from Trento. In spring, she will be placed in a strictly secured bear enclosure in the Black Forest, just like her mother Jurka.
Preparing for Gaia
Last year, animal rights activists were unable to stop the killing of three bears. The forestry administration had the animals, named M90, KJ1 and M91, killed in accordance with the orders of provincial president Fugatti.
Meanwhile, an enclosure for Gaia is being prepared in the Black Forest. "We are still well on schedule. As soon as the weather permits, the work can continue," says Christopher Schmidt, spokesman for the Alternative Wolf and Bear Park in the Black Forest. The park is mainly home to bears that have been kept in cages or circuses.
Life behind fences is "horror" for wild animals
Taking Gaia into the Black Forest is still the best solution in the current situation. However, it should not become a standard solution. "We have actually said that we won't take in any more wild bears. It doesn't start with Gaia, it should end with her," says Schmidt.
"Basically, captivity is a horror for wild animals, as they have an enormous desire for freedom." For example, they try to dig their way to freedom - but this is prevented by a meter-deep burrow. "The animal knows that there are endless expanses. It doesn't understand why there's a fence there now."
Surrendering to its fate
The result is "that the animal breaks down at some point, resigns itself to its fate and ekes out a living." At the bear park, they try to accompany the breaking gently. "Shooting them would have been the least painful way," says Schmidt. "Our solution causes the least suffering for the animal afterwards."
He says of the culls now permitted in Trentino: "It's definitely better for the animal than caging it. It is a practicable approach if it means that inconspicuous bears can live in freedom."