A brown bear has been captured after attacking and killing a young man jogging in a village in the northern Italian Alps.
According to ANSA news agency, authorities in Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, northern Italy, announced on the 18th (local time) that they had succeeded in capturing a 17-year-old female brown bear named ‘JJ4’.
The authorities explained that they lured ‘JJ4’ with fruit as bait and captured it around 11:00 the night before. Two of the three cubs of ‘JJ4’ were also captured in the tube-shaped trap, but the authorities released them after judging that all of the cubs were over 2 years old and could survive without their mother.
Earlier, on the 6th, a young man named Andrea Papi (26) was found dead in Trentino Caldes, Italy. Authorities found Papi’s body near a forest road after a family report that she had gone out for a jog and hadn’t returned.
Papi’s body had deep scars from being torn or bitten all over the face and abdomen. As a result of DNA analysis taken from the victim’s wounds, the attacking bear was identified as ‘JJ4’, a 17-year-old female brown bear under the management of the Italian government. JJ4 is the younger brother of two brown bears that were euthanized for excessive aggression: ‘Bruno (JJ1)’, who was killed in Germany in 2005, and ‘JJ3’, who was killed by Swiss authorities in 2008.
‘JJ4’ had a criminal record of attacking both father and son in the same area in June 2020. At the time, state authorities tried to kill JJ4, but the court stopped them. Again, Governor Maurizio Fugatti issued an order to kill JJ4, but the court put the brakes on a moratorium on the killing until May 11.
“I wanted to shoot the bear during capture,” said Governor Fugatti. Had JJ4 been killed in 2020, Papy’s death would not have occurred. “I feel bitter about what happened this time,” he said. “The court is scheduled to make a ruling on May 11th. If the court proves our case correct, the bear will be shot.”
On the other hand, the International Organization for Animal Protection (OIPA), an animal protection organization, said, “A responsible administration should act according to the rules for protecting animal diversity, and should not act with a desire to retaliate or take revenge.” Concerned that this could happen, they announced that they would protect JJ4 and the bear cubs using all possible legal means.
Poppy’s mother also objected to the killing of JJ4. “It’s not the bear’s fault, and it’s not her son’s fault,” said Poppy’s mother. She can’t get her son back by killing a bear,” she said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.