Italy captures bear that killed runner, death order on hold

Italian authorities have captured the 17-year-old female bear, identified as "JJ4," that fatally attacked a jogger in the northern Trentino region two weeks ago, officials said on Tuesday.  

The search for the bear began after the body of 26-year-old Andrea Papi was found on April 6 in the woods of the Peller Mountain, where he had gone jogging.

Local prosecutors said the DNA samples taken from the scene of the incident matched that of JJ4.

After the attack on Papi, Trento provincial leader Maurizio Fugatti ordered the bear to be put down.

Following appeals by animal rights groups, however, an administrative court put the order to cull on hold.

The court has scheduled a full hearing for May 11.

"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.

Is the bear population out of control?

The attack has reignited a debate on human-wildlife conflict.

Wild brown bears were imported from Slovenia and reintroduced to Trentino in 1999 under an EU-funded program and as part of a wider project to resettle the animals to the Austrian and Italian Alps.

Some observers have recently complained that the bear population has gotten out of hand, reaching more than double the number the project aimed to achieve.

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

Papi is believed to be the first person to have died of a bear attack since the project's launch. 

Authorities said JJ4 also attacked two other people in 2020, but not fatally.

sri/nm (AP, Reuters, dpa)