The Marsican brown bear died after being captured in the Abruzzo Park

A Marsican brown bear died in the Abruzzo Lazio and Molise Park during a capture operation carried out by the staff who manages the nature reserve. The young specimen died after being anesthetized

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Un Marsican brown bear died in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise Park during a capture operation carried out by the staff who manages the nature reserve. The young specimen died after being anesthetized.

How did things go? A note from the park explains that the capture was part of the 'activities planned and authorized by the Ministry of the Environment, with the opinion of Ispra, for the control of animals'. A check that is done in the presence of problematic or confident bears that, according to experts, cause damage.

“It is the first time that we are faced with an anesthetic emergency during a capture, although the protocol used minimizes the risks for the bear, they cannot in any case be totally excluded. I confirm full confidence in the park staff and I hope that the necropsy analysis can shed full light on the causes of death ", explains Antonio Carrara, president of the Park.

Since last February, a capture site had been set up in the Municipality of Lecce in the Marsi which was monitored daily by video surveillance or directly by the Park staff.

“After the report of the trapped bear at around 23.30 pm, the capture team immediately went to the scene. Following the Protocol for the mechanical and anesthetic capture of Marsican brown bears in the wild and in captivity, the necessary procedures were carried out to anesthetize the animal and put it in safety. Already in the first phase of the operation, the bear showed respiratory problems which, despite the timely resuscitation maneuvers that could be carried out in the field, led to death in a short time ”, says the note from the park authority.

We are talking about a young brown bear that had never been marked or radio-collar, now the carcass has been transported to the Ente Center in Pescasseroli waiting to be transferred to the Zooprophilatic Institute for the ascertainment of the causes of death.

The reaction of the animal rights world

"We await the results of the analyzes that will be conducted on the animal, in the hope that they can better clarify the dynamics of what happened, but we are certainly facing a very serious loss, considering that it is an endangered subspecies which now has only 50 individuals or a little more ”, explains the WWF

According to the association, it is important to review the operational protocols on the capture of bears, so that they guarantee more precautionary safety standards for the health of the animals. In the meantime, the Park is asked to suspend or reduce the capture and sedation of bears only to unavoidable cases.

"Before subjecting animals to risky stress and the dangers associated with capture, it would be necessary, in fact, to implement strategies aimed at local communities to modify those activities and behaviors (such as leaving food sources accessible to bears or having dogs not leash in areas where the presence of the bear is reported) largely responsible for the confident behavior of these animals ".

But this is not the first case, in 2014 we told you about the bear Daniza, the new mother who died during the capture in Trentino. The animal was trapped because it attacked a hiker who got too close to the puppies. And even then, Daniza had died from the aftermath of anesthesia.

"After this further dramatic event, the WWF is once again urging the institutions to put in place all the mechanisms necessary to eliminate the loss of individuals of Marsican brown bears, a unique subspecies in the world, whose future is threatened".

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