Rome, Sept 4, (dpa/GNA) – After a well-known brown bear nicknamed Amarena, was killed by a man in central Italy last week, the search for her two cubs was ongoing, and a source of growing worry in the country.
The search in and around the Abruzzo National Park, has so far proved unsuccessful, and there are fears it soon will be too late to save the cubs, which are not yet self-sufficient.
Amarena enjoyed a measure of fame, for strolling through towns in the region along with her offspring, with many videos of the bear circulating online.
Last Thursday, a 56-year-old man said he opened fire at Amarena on his property near the village of San Sebastiano Dei Marsi, after he felt threatened. The public prosecutor’s office has started an investigation.
All attempts to lure the months-old cubs into traps have been fruitless.
The man who shot Amarena – named after the black cherries she loved eating – has received death threats.
In his neighbourhood, “Giustizia,” or “Justice” was written on a building wall. But a demonstration titled Justice for Mama Bear Amarena was not allowed by the authorities.
About 60 brown bears live in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park in Italy.
Encounters between bears and humans have been a major topic of debate in the region since April, when a jogger was attacked and killed by a bear in the Trentino region.
GNA