Bear that killed Italian runner captured, death order on hold

The female bear that killed a 26-year-old runner in the Italian Alps two weeks ago has been captured, the Trento province announced on Tuesday.

The search for the bear began after Andrea Papi's body was found on April 6 in the woods of the Peller mountain, where he had gone jogging.

Local prosecutors later said the DNA samples taken after the attack on Papi matched that of a 17-year-old female bear identified as “JJ4”.

The bear had previously attacked two other people and Trento provincial leader Maurizio Fugatti has issued an order for JJ4 to be put down.

The order was, however, suspended by an administrative court on April 14, after appeals by environmental groups. Judges are due to return to the issue in a May 11 hearing.

“As far as we are concerned, if the court will allow it ... we will proceed with the killing,” Fugatti told a news conference on Tuesday.

Papi's death has reopened a debate on human-wildlife conflict in an area that was repopulated with bears from 1999 under an EU-funded programme.

Data provided by Trento's provincial authorities showed that the bear population in the area totalled about 100 animals in 2021.

Reuters