«A specimen of young bear, in all probability M57, became the protagonist yesterday evening of an attack on a man in Andalo, near the lake at the gates of the town, knocking him to the ground and causing him several injuries. The President of the Province then ordered the capture, carried out by the staff of the Forestry Corps also assisted by the Fire Brigade and the Carabinieri of Andalo, who during the night identified the specimen of 121 kilos, while it was feeding in some bins, heedless of the lights and the presence of people, always at the entrance to the town of Andalo, in the direction of Fai, and proceeded to drug him. The bear was then transported to the Casteller. ‘ This is what the Autonomous Province of Trento says in a note.
The President of the Autonomous Province Fugatti: “M57 was captured and taken to Casteller. It wasn’t easy”
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The specimen, therefore, would be M57, which in recent months had already manifested an extremely confident nature towards man, arousing concern and therefore being monitored in his actions. The bear had in fact followed very closely some hikers in the woods of the Paganella plateau, had made forays into inhabited centers and had repeatedly rummaged in the bins in search of food. Last night, however, the attack on a carabiniere, who in the company of another person was taking a short walk waiting to take up service for the night shift.
«The attack – continues the note – according to the testimonies collected by the two, was sudden, without provocation: it took place near the lake-biotope which in winter is also used as a cross-country track. The area is adjacent to various sports facilities and is a popular tourist attraction. The capture took place when the bear was still intent on rummaging in the garbage bins, in free ranging (shooting the narcotic at the free bear) around 4 in the morning, with the support of specialized veterinary staff. The operations were also followed by the mayor of Andalo, as well as by the president of the province who remained in constant contact with the forestry workers. In the next few days, genetic analyzes will be carried out starting from the clothes the attacked person wore, in order to establish with certainty the identity of the bear ».
Oipa: demonstrates the failure of the Life Ursus project and of the management of the province of Trento “Reacting to the first contact between a human and a bear with the capture and captivity of the animal is an implicit admission of the failure of the Life Ursus project and above all of the inability of the Autonomous Province of Trento to manage the forced reintroduction of bears into the its territory “. Thus Oipa Italia (International Animal Protection Organization) comments in a note on the news of the capture of a young bear, perhaps M57, in Andalo. «The bear is the bear. And if he is hungry, he looks for food even becoming a ‘confidant’. It is up to the managers of the territory to ensure that correct information is given to the population, right from the school desks, on how to behave in nature and on the correct behavior in case you meet a bear during an excursion “, continues the note. «The carabiniere attacked last night was probably reckless and this does not mean that the animal must be penalized with capture and captivity. – declares the president of Oipa, Massimo Comparotto – The United States, with their large parks inhabited by bears, should teach something, but evidently Trentino is light years away from a modern culture of man-animal coexistence. If a bear is a bear, it catches itself, puts it in a cage or, worse, kills itself. We are in the Stone Age ».
“In the USA, – Oipa recalls – brochures are distributed at the entrance of the large parks explaining how to behave in case you run into a bear, avoiding behaviors that could attract it, we invite you to bring the food in airtight containers, garbage cans are bear-proof, numerous signs that continually remind you of safety rules. And, without going too far, even the management of bears in Abruzzo could teach a lot to Trentino and the Autonomous Province of Trento ».
