"Shot out of fear but had no intention to kill"... Italy in shock over the shooting of a 'rare bear'

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A mother bear, beloved as the mascot of the Abruzzo region in central-eastern Italy, was fatally shot. The news of the bear's death plunged the local community into deep shock and sorrow.

According to the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica on the 1st (local time), the previous night near the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park, a mother bear nicknamed 'Amarena' was shot and killed by a man.

The news was first announced through the national park's Facebook page, and the park authorities identified the man in his 50s who fired the shot and handed him over to the police. During the police investigation, the man stated, "I shot because I was scared, but I did not intend to kill," and "I found the bear at my home, and it was an impulsive and instinctive action."

On the 26th of last month, a mother bear named 'Amarena' appeared in the village of San Sebastiano dei Marsi with her two cubs.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Amarena means 'black cherry' in Italian. This mother bear, who frequently appeared in the village, especially liked black cherries, which is why local residents gave her this nickname.

Amarena was a Marsican brown bear, known as one of the rarest types of bears on Earth. Currently, only about 60 of these bears survive, making them a critically endangered species.

WWF Italy launched a Marsican brown bear protection campaign last year, issuing a grim forecast that "without additional protective measures, the Marsican brown bear will become extinct within 30 years."

WWF explained that this is due to habitat loss caused by road expansions cutting through forests and conflicts with ranchers and farmers over food shortages.

The Marsican brown bear is known to have a relatively gentle temperament and no aggression toward humans. The national park authorities condemned the incident, stating, "(The shooting of the mother bear) affected one of the females that had given birth to the most cubs in the park's history, causing significant damage to the population of about 60 bears," calling it "a very serious matter." They added, "Amarena has never caused any problems to people until now. Therefore, there is no justification for this incident."

The national park authorities judged that Amarena's cubs would have difficulty surviving on their own after losing their mother and are currently searching for the two cubs, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

Following the tragic news of Amarena's death, thousands of comments were posted on the national park's Facebook page by many people, including residents of Abruzzo. Most comments mourned Amarena, saying things like "Today is a day of mourning not only for Abruzzo but for the entire country," and "Amarena's death is an immense pain," while some netizens demanded severe punishment for the man who fired the shot. Marco Marsilio, governor of Abruzzo, also described the bear's death as "an incomprehensible act" and "a very serious act that has brought pain and anger to the entire region."

Just a week ago, on the 26th of last month, Amarena was seen strolling through the village of San Sebastiano dei Marsi in Abruzzo with her two cubs, bringing joy to local residents. A video showing the mother bear waiting for her lagging cubs while crossing the village center under the watchful eyes of tourists and residents became a major topic of interest.

In January, Amarena also lost one of her three-year-old cubs in a traffic accident. The cub, named Juan Carito, was one of the four cubs born to Amarena in 2020 and was known for his voracious appetite. In November 2021, Juan Carito broke into a bakery in the mountain village of Roccaraso, causing a mess and eating an entire tray of biscuits, earning the nickname "bakery robber." Despite it being winter, Juan Carito did not hibernate and searched for food in the village, which ultimately led to the accident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.