Extreme mountaineer Reinhold Messner believes there are now too many bears in Trentino. “I am close to the world of farmers, who now face an additional problem: that of large predators, from bears to wolves. The bear needs large areas,” said the South Tyrolean.
Bears would become dangerous if they did not have enough territory and get close to communities. It’s normal to be scared when you meet them. “Either you shoot them if they are dangerous, or you send them to the Carpathians where there is space,” Messner said. “The bears have been disappearing from our mountains for 130 years because farmers could no longer tolerate them. The problem is living with predators,” the 79-year-old said in an interview with the Italian daily “La Stampa” on Thursday.
“Crazy threatening letters”
Because of his position he receives “crazy threatening letters”. As reported, forest rangers shot the ‘problem bear’ M90 in Trentino on Tuesday. The animal had previously followed two friends who were walking on a forest path in the municipality of Mezzana. He approached the two within ten meters and then ran away.
Analysis revealed that it was the bear M90, which was considered dangerous because it had repeatedly shown excessive familiarity with humans in the past. He also often spent time on the city streets and near settlements.
Pointy debate
Since the death of a jogger last April, the debate over the coexistence of bears and humans in Italy has come to a head. Animal rights activists repeatedly call for raising awareness about wildlife or establishing wildlife corridors. According to the province of Trento, the number of bears in the area has increased dramatically since the EU project “Life Ursus” 24 years ago. Instead of 50 as planned, about 100 copies have established themselves so far.
Source: Krone
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