The decomposing carcass of a bear has been found by a group of hikers in an inaccessible area between Lake Molveno and the municipality of San Lorenzo Dorsino in Trentino, northern Italy.
This is a bear known with the code M62, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. The bear could be identified with ear tags.
The rescue of the animal was carried out by the Trentino Forest Service. The Autonomous Province of Trento said it was investigating the cause of the bear’s death.
Belonged to “problematic” specimens
M62 was among specimens deemed “problematic” for having shown over-reliance on humans over time. M62 belongs to the same litter as M57, caught in 2020 after attacking a carabiniere in the municipality of Andalo, and F43, a female who died in September 2022 due to an incorrect dose of anesthetic during the capture to exchange the radio collar.
Three weeks ago, a 26-year-old jogger was found dead on a forest path in the Trentino municipality of Caldes, in a valley (Val di Sole) popular with hikers and tourists. A female bear known by the code JJ4, which has already attracted attention several times, had killed the man. It is the sister of the “problem bear” Bruno, who was shot dead in Bavaria in 2006.
After an attack in 2020, the bear should have been killed, a court ruled against the killing. The bear was caught last week and is in an animal protection center in Casteller near Trento. Around 300 animal rights activists demonstrated in front of the center last Sunday against the killing of the bear.
