Trentino: Bear attacks hobby hunter

The Trentino authorities have identified the bear that attacked and injured two people on Monte Peller mountain in Trentino two weeks ago.

Thanks to the analysis of saliva found on the clothing of the attacked men, the animal was identified as a 14-year-old female bear known by the code «Jj4».

She is reported to be the second oldest female bear in the Trentino region, according to the authorities. It remains unclear whether she was accompanied by cubs when she attacked the two men. The hunt for the bear is now set to begin; she is to be killed under a decree issued by Trentino, writes Presse.

Trentino Governor stands firm

Italian Environment Minister Sergio Costa has spoken out against the killing of «Jj4». He called on the Trentino authorities to spare the bear this fate. However, Trentino Governor Maurizio Fugatti is standing firm. “Dealing with bears in our region is problematic due to the number of animals. We have informed the Environment Minister about these issues,” said Fugatti. Costa indicated he was prepared to take legal steps to prevent the bear from being killed. Such cases illustrate how the return of predators is being exploited for political ends.

A father and son are out in the mountains in the northern Italian province of Trentino. Suddenly, a bear appears before them. The 28-year-old son runs away and falls to the ground in fright. The bear climbs on top of him.

The father intervenes, defends his son and attacks the bear. Local media quote the father, Fabio Misseroni, as saying the animal came "like a bolt of lightning" out of the forest. "It threw itself at my son, hitting him on the legs. Then I went at it to defend Christian. It bit me on one leg, then on an arm, then on the other hand. Then it left — like a miracle. It could have killed us both."

The men — both hobby hunters — were taken to hospital. The encounter between the wild animal and the father involved “kicks, blows, and bites,” according to the provincial authorities. Whether the bear was aggressive or whether the men’s behaviour startled it remains unclear. Authorities are investigating whether it was a female bear with cubs. “Bears are normally afraid of people and tend to avoid them. But if a female has cubs, she will defend them,” explained a provincial spokesperson.

The two hobby hunters — 59-year-old Fabio Misseroni and his son Christian — have called on the authorities not to kill the bear. The father suffered broken bones in one leg and deep wounds during the incident in the Val di Sole. The son escaped with superficial injuries. The nature conservation organisation Legambiente instructed its lawyers to file a complaint against the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento.

Sister of the shot bear “Bruno”

“JJ4” is the daughter of the bear Jurka, who was housed in 2010 in Baden-Württemberg’s first bear sanctuary in the Wolftal near Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach. The sanctuary is intended as a refuge for former wild animals that can no longer be released into the wild. The bear, originally from Slovenia, had been cared for in Trentino and prepared for release into the wild. This plan failed, however, as the 14-year-old Jurka had become too accustomed to humans. Her son Bruno was shot on 26 June 2006 in Upper Bavaria, triggering fierce protests among animal welfare advocates.

In Trentino approximately 90 bears live in the wild. They occasionally venture into residential areas and attack livestock. As part of an EU-funded project, a dozen bears from Slovenia were brought to the region and released in 1999.