Authorities in Northern Italy on Wednesday said a bear who had been on the run since July and targeted by shoot-to-kill orders had finally been captured.
The bear, known as M49, disappeared into the wild after his first capture by park rangers, as he managed to climb over four fences, including one protected by high-voltage electricity.
According to the Province of Trento, the bear was caught for the second time on Wednesday and taken back to the animal park from where the bear escaped from.
“The animal, weighing 167 kilogrammes, is in good physical condition, and is in a fenced-off area also containing a female bear,“the province said.
Over the past months, M49 was spotted on several occasions in the wild but also near human settlements, and has attacked several farm animals.
Farmers association Coldiretti expressed a sigh of relief over the bear’s re-capture, while the Italian chapter of WWF called it a terrible and sad news for nature conservation in the country.
After M49’s escape, Trento Province President Maurizio Fugatti initially gave an order to shoot if the bear was spotted near humans, but he was heavily criticized for this.
In response, authorities changed tack and decided to prioritize the re-capture of M49 alive, and considered shooting not the only option.(dpa/NAN)