An endangered brown bear, who was often spotted roaming in Italian towns with her two cubs, was shot dead near a national park on Thursday.
The marsican brown bear died on the outskirts of the town of San Benedetto dei Marsi in the mountainous Abruzzo region, according to a statement posted by the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise.
The park described the slain animal – nicknamed “Amarena” after the black cherries she loved eating – as one of its most prolific brown bears.
Amarena’s death sparked outrage from local politicians and animal rights advocates, as park rangers tried to locate her cubs amid fears for their survival.
Local police identified and questioned the suspected shooter, who said he acted out of fear when he shot Amarena after discovering the mother bear on his property.
Hunting bears is against the law in Italy.
Italy’s environment minister Gilberto Pichetto said the killing of a marsican bear “is a grave episode” and that authorities concerned for the bear’s cubs “are doing everything possible so that they can remain free”.
The head of World Wildlife Fund’s Italy office, Luciano Di Tizio called the bear‘s slaying a “very grave, unjustifiable crime of nature” and the result of a “constant campaign against wildlife.”
He also said the motherless cubs are too young to be self-sufficient and thus at high risk, triggering the search for them in the parklands.
National Park president Luciano Sammarone was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the bear had crossed over a private fence, but had no history of attacking humans.
“I have a hard time believing that (she was killed) in self-defence,” he said, adding that he would wait for the outcome of investigations.
Locals, including families with small children, would stop and watch Amarena and her cubs during their frequent evening excursions through streets of towns near the park.
Amarena was the mother of a four-year-old marsican bear, known as Juan Carrito, who was fatally struck by a car earlier this year.
Juan Carrito earned national fame two years ago, after broke into a bakery and munched on cookies.
The uproar over Amarena’s shooting follows an argument over an incident in April when another bear killed a 26-year-old runner in northern Italy.
The death sparked a legal battle between local authorities, who want to kill the bear and another one deemed dangerous, and environmental groups who want to save them.
Additional reporting by agencies.
