"Problem Bear" shot down in Lake Garda
For weeks, bear KJ1 and her cubs have been roaming the forests above Lake Garda. Then she attacked a jogger. Authorities decided to kill the animal. Now, the bear has been shot. Another "problem bear" has had more luck.
In the middle of the holiday season, a bear has been shot above Lake Garda in Italy after becoming a danger to tourists. The bear, identified as KJ1, was located with a tracker around its neck and then killed, according to the Trentino province government.
The brown bear had attacked a 43-year-old French jogger three weeks ago, leaving him severely injured. Many Germans are currently spending their summer holidays in Trentino and South Tyrol, engaging in activities like hiking and mountain biking in the forests where over a hundred brown bears reside.
Similar incidents have occurred in other European mountain regions. In the Romanian Carpathians, a tourist was even killed. However, animal and environmental protection organizations criticized the bear's killing, as did the Italian government in Rome.
The shot bear was a 20-year-old mother with three or four cubs. She was killed near the municipality of Tenno after being deemed a "dangerous specimen" for previously exhibiting problematic behavior, such as lingering near inhabited areas or approaching humans.
"Killing individual bears is not a solution"
The frequent encounters may be due to the recent mating season, during which male bears search for mates, and mother bears become aggressive when protecting their cubs. Bears are also increasingly approaching farms and villages in search of food, raiding compost piles, devouring cherry trees, and killing calves and sheep.
Despite the attack on the tourist, animal protection advocates attempted to prevent KJ1's killing through legal means. Brown bears are protected in Europe by various agreements and an EU directive, allowing only "problem bears" to be captured, relocated, and, as a last resort, killed.
However, the Trentino parliament recently approved the killing of up to eight bears per year. Several animal protection organizations and the Italian government in Rome have expressed disapproval. Italian Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin stated, "Killing individual bears is not a solution." Reflecting on the bears' reintroduction around the turn of the millennium, he said, "We are now experiencing the consequences of a past mistake made without careful consideration for the tourist image of bears."
Experts advise: Stay calm and slowly retreat
Usually, bears avoid humans. However, encounters have been increasing in Trentino, with a 26-year-old jogger even being killed by a bear last year. This bear, known as Gaia, was later captured alive and will be relocated to Germany in the coming weeks.
In the "Alternatives Wolf and Bear Park" near Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach in the Black Forest, a habitat is currently being built for Gaia. The Black Forest Park is also home to the brown bear Jurka, Gaia's mother. Gaia's brother Bruno was the first bear to set foot on Bavarian soil in 170 years, in the summer of 2006. The "problem bear" was shot in the Bavarian Rotwand region. Generally, experts advise remaining calm and slowly retreating if you encounter a brown bear. They also recommend bear spray and odor-proof containers to prevent the animals from being attracted in the first place.
Following the attack on the jogger, The Commission in Trentino province reviewed KJ1's case and deemed her a "dangerous specimen." The Commission, in accordance with EU directives, authorized the bear's relocation or, as a last resort, her killing.
In response to KJ1's unfortunate demise, The Commission in Rome, led by Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, expressed concern, stating, "We should explore other solutions besides killing individual bears."
