The latest discovery occurred in the middle of last month: the carcass of a bear cub with particularly light fur was recovered by foresters in the Garniga Terme area. As per practice, the remains of the small plantigrade were sent to the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Venice for analysis. Until then the cause of death will remain “unknown”, as has been the case for nine other bears since 2018.
The cases
In some cases it was not possible to reconstruct the cause of death of the plantigrades due to the conditions in which the carcasses were found, the conditions were such that the authorities were not even able to establish the sex of the specimen. This applies in particular to four findings out of 19 in total. On the contrary, in seven other cases the death was due to the attack of another plantigrade. This is the fate of F56 and M62 (a specimen considered problematic) found last year in Cavedago and San Lorenzo Dorsino respectively. In September 2022, however, F43 died during the capture phases to replace the radio collar. The female was monitored by foresters due to her strong confidence with humans. The same year the young F71 was hit and killed along state road 42, in the Vermiglio area.
The threats to Fugatti
Yet it is impossible not to notice how the phenomenon of carcass findings has undergone a notable increase at a very specific moment: that is, after the death of the 26-year-old from Caldes, Andrea Papi, which occurred on 5 April 2023 due to the attack of the bear Jj4. Papi’s tragic death has understandably reignited a fierce debate on the possibility or otherwise of being able to coexist with these animals reintroduced in Trentino starting from 1999. If many experts and environmentalist associations accuse the Province of having neglected the management of these large carnivores, the conflict has reached such a level that the president of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti, received several threats so much so that he was assigned an escort. Not only that, because the suspicion is that someone has chosen to take action, going so far as to carry out actual acts of poaching against bears.
The phenomenon of poaching
As of April 2023, excluding the Garniga puppy and a very deteriorated carcass, the causes of death have not yet been disclosed for five specimens. On some of the analyzes carried out, in particular those on the carcasses of Mj5 and F36 (two specimens that the Province wanted to shoot down), there is still the utmost confidentiality because the Trento Prosecutor’s Office has opened investigations to shed light on these suspicious deaths. From what transpires, the investigators’ hypothesis is that both bears were killed at the hands of humans. The phenomenon of poaching in the province of Trento is not new. At least four cases have been confirmed so far (plus one wolf in 2023): M2 was shot down in 2013 in Val di Rabbi; while in 2016 three bears (M6, M21 and the female F5) were poisoned in the Lover area, in Val di Non. For M11 and M25, however, there are only suspicions: the two bears suddenly disappeared between 2013 and 2014, the first had settled in the Monte Baldo area, the second in that of Sondrio. Both were classified as “particularly harmful”, inclination that made them unpopular with farmers and breeders.
