Marsicano bear, soon it will be just a memory. A new death in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. This time it is a female with an apparent age of 5-6 years, therefore on the threshold of starting her life as a breeder. This umpteenth loss could be the latest proof of the incompatibility of intensive farming in areas which, although institutionally dedicated to the conservation of bears and wildlife, have instead been invaded by herds of cattle for years.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Marsicano bear, soon it will be just a memory. A new death in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. This time it is a female with an apparent age of 5-6 years, therefore on the threshold of starting her life as a breeder. This umpteenth loss could be the latest proof of the incompatibility of intensive farming in areas which, although institutionally dedicated to the conservation of bears and wildlife, have instead been for years invaded by herds of cattle.
To explain it is Let's save the bear, Association for the conservation of the Marsican brown bear, recalling that the loss of the specimen, in a small residual population of bears, causes serious damage to the hopes of survival of the population in the medium-long term. But how did the bear die? The park authority, in a first communication, explained that the animal presented the symptoms of a serious disease, symptoms that seem to recall those ofmale bear recovered from the Sirente meadows in January 2012 and then died. And also those of another bear found dead near the Duchess Reserve in December 2008.
The cause of death of the bears of Sirente and Duchessa remained shrouded in fog. This time, however, the animal was recovered still alive and the samples, as well as the subsequent necropsy, could not have been more timely. For this reason, the association says "public opinion expects a clear and definitive word on the cause of death and will not tolerate any delay or ambiguity in this sad story since the survival of the species is at stake". Also because it could be one pathology related to coexistence with farm animals.
Meanwhile, yet another was signed in Rome agreement between the institutions to save the Marsicano Brown Bear, of which by now only 50 specimens are left, between the Ministry of the Environment, the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise and the three Regions concerned, which will be signed as soon as the process for the appointment of the President of the Park has been completed. previous Government.
"The objective of this operational agreement - affirms the Minister of the Environment Gian Luca Galletti - is to rapidly implement concrete actions for the conservation of the bear, responding to a clear request from public opinion, as well as to specific commitments undertaken with the 'European Union. In fact, the recent deaths from poisoning of some animals have made the need for the protection of the bear even more pressing, which today is the mammal most threatened nationally, also attacked by repeated acts of poaching to which the answer must be incisive and determined ".
The definition of the protocol was reached after a ministerial intervention at the end of 2013 aimed at identifying the actions to be taken to overcome thehe emergency situation caused by the accidents of which some specimens have recently been victims and more generally by the persistence of the species in a critical state of conservation. A need that was shared, during a meeting held at the ministry, by the Prefects of L'Aquila, Frosinone and Isernia, by the representatives of the Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise Regions, the commander of the NOE, by the Commissioner of the Abruzzo Park, by the representatives of the State Forestry Corps, Ispra and the Lazio and Tuscany Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute.
This has led to the definition of a memorandum of understanding between all the bodies and bodies in charge in which the commitments that each Administration undertakes with respect to the urgent action to be carried out and the relative timing are clearly defined. The text has been drawn up and the three regions with resolutions of the council have defined its adhesion. This is an act of considerable importance because it establishes the joint commitment of the institutions to rapidly implement concrete actions for the conservation of bears, responding to a clear request from public opinion, as well as to specific commitments undertaken with the European Union. .
Will it be useful? For the I Lupi dell'Appennino Association, saving the Marsican bear is now an impossible mission:
“For years our Association has been fighting for the salvation of this wonderful plantigrade, the Marsican Bear, denouncing the serious and serious dangers that make us fear for its next, imminent extinction. Million-dollar projects have been presented in recent years, financed and launched for the study of the conservation of the species and of the territory that hosts the Marsican bear population (Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise). Projects, in our opinion, which provide for the study and collection of new information on the biology and ecology of this species, but they do not concretely address the actions to be activated immediately and concretely for the management of the territory and the protection of the Bear ”, explains the association.
In fact, it would be researches that only superficially deal with and address the real protection of this species. It is not possible to understand how, for example, with regard to the last fifty specimens found dead, principals and executors have not yet been found; or how the massive use of poison within the Abruzzo national park and neighboring areas is not validly opposed, despite some interesting Life projects financed precisely for the control of the spread of poisons in the territories, and which provide for the specific training of dogs for the search for poisoned morsels are not developed on a large scale.
Last but not least, the problem of the presence of herds of cattle in a semi-wild state, carriers of numerous diseases, even in areas of integral reserve created specifically for the protection and survival of the Marsican bear. There is no more time now.
Roberta Ragni
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