A bear attacked a man in the forests of Bleggio Superiore in Trentino, northern Italy, on Saturday afternoon. The 33-year-old was alone looking for mushrooms when he was suddenly attacked from behind. Incidents continue to occur in the region.
The bear lifted him to the ground, struck him several times with its paws and injured his back and arms before running away. The man ran back to the nearest village where he asked for help. Genetic traces on the male’s clothing are intended to identify the predator. The bear must be killed as required by Trentino bear management.
The attack occurred at a time of year when bears begin to hibernate, although these animals are now being spotted in winter due to climate change and mild temperatures. Bleggio Superiore is a town between Riva del Garda and Tione and is located in an area where a high presence of bears has long been reported.
There are always incidents in the region
Not far from Bleggio Superiore, in Dro, a French tourist was attacked by a bear while jogging in the forest in July. A few days later the animal was identified thanks to DNA traces. It was the bear “KJ1”, which has since been killed.
In April 2023, the jogger Andrea Papi was attacked and killed in the forests of Caldes in the Val di Sole valley of Trentino by the bear Gaida, who goes by the name “JJ4”. The animal was captured and taken to a facility near Trento. The bear was actually supposed to move to a high-security enclosure in the Black Forest this year. But the animal’s arrival at the Black Forest Alternative Wolf and Bear Park has been postponed until spring 2025. This is partly due to weather-related delays in the construction of the enclosure, a spokesperson said this week.
The population must be kept under control
Since the bear’s return to Trentino with the Life Ursus project, there have been other attacks on humans. Trentino recently passed a bill aimed at curbing the bear population. The design provides for the possibility of killing a maximum of eight animals per year. Recent estimates put the number of bears in the area at more than 100.
Animal rights activists repeatedly call for raising awareness about wildlife or establishing wildlife corridors. Italian Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin had called for a sterilization campaign for the bears.
Source: Krone
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