Genovesi (Ispra): “Bear attacks are rare but we must remember how to behave to avert the danger”

Once it has been established with certainty whether it was a bear that attacked and killed the runner Andrea Papi in Trentino, it will be up to Ispra to give an opinion on killing the animal. Piero Genoeseone of the world’s leading bear experts and head of the Ispra Wildlife Coordination Service, helps to understand what may have triggered the attack and how conflicts between humans and bears could be avoided.

Do you have any more information on the attack?
“We were informed of what happened immediately after the discovery of the body, around 3 in the morning on Thursday. We then attended the meeting of the Provincial Committee for Public Order and Security, immediately convened by the Trento government commissioner. In that headquarters we have been given the available details. Now we are waiting to have the results of the autopsy, to be sure that it is a bear, and those of the genetic analyzes, to establish which animal it was. For the latter, it may be necessary some days”.

Is there a bear problem in Trentino?
“Two years ago, together with the Muse of Trento, like Ispra, we provided the Province with a detailed report, in which we analyzed all the data on conflicts with bears relating to Trentino: the results indicate that it could happen that some individual bears become animals at high risk. It is a very rare, but possible, and often depends on the phenomenon of “getting used to humans”, for which some animals become more confident. Although very rare, it happens all over the world that attacks occur and this is why the danger must be considered and it is obviously the responsibility of public bodies that the risk is minimized”.

As?
“I would like to underline once again that attacks with injuries, throughout Europe, occur every year, but fatal attacks are very rare. In Sweden, where there are 4-5 thousand bears compared to about 100 in Trentino, there is about one incident every year, but the fatal ones have been only 2 in the last 15. In Romania, where the bear population is over 6,000 and many bears are confident, there have been 11 lethal attacks in 15 years. it is essential to stem the trusting behaviors of bears.In general terms, bears must not lose their natural elusiveness, therefore possible sources of food must be secured, it is necessary to intervene with deterrents, such as noise and rubber bullets, if they approach to urban areas. Then, it is necessary to communicate to those who frequent areas where there are bears the correct behavior to follow, so that accidents are reduced to a minimum”.

However, even if you know how to behave, suddenly finding yourself in front of a bear does not mean knowing how to react in the right way. Do you think some paths should be closed?
“In general, bears can hear us, Trentino is very popular with tourists and sportsmen and women, it is highly probable that many people find themselves close to a bear every day without realizing it. Experiments carried out in Scandinavia have shown that the bear’s reaction, if it notices the presence of a human, is always to move away, therefore it is not enough to get close to the bear for there to be danger. Even the Pacobace, the reference document for the management of the brown bear for the Regions and the autonomous Provinces of the central-eastern Alps, indicates that in general an encounter with the bear is not a danger Behaviors such as false attacks are also described, when a bear realizes that it has someone nearby and stands up on its hind legs to see better, or starts a charge to scare those stays in front. Even these threatening attitudes, however, do not indicate a particular danger. However, in the presence of fatal accidents, or checks that ascertain the danger of an individual due to the habituation I mentioned before, the Pacobace foresees that the animals risk of being destroyed”.

But in Italy it has not been done previously. In Trentino, for example, there are three bears locked up in the Casteller.
“In the report two years ago we underlined that Italy is the only country that has decided to use the option of captivity, but like Ispra we believe it is not a viable option in the long term. While we understand the sensitivity of the public, we have always expressed ourselves because clearly dangerous bears should be considered killing, there are no other ways”.

With every accident in Trentino one wonders why the same thing doesn’t happen in Abruzzo.
“First of all, let’s clarify that there is no element to think that the bears of Trentino are more aggressive, even in Abruzzo there is some possible risk and confident bears are not rare. In Trentino, up until the 1990s, there was a residual population of about 50 old specimens accustomed to humans and the bears reintroduced from Slovenia are generally absolutely not very dangerous.However, in Abruzzo bears have always been there and there are about 50, in the Alps they have grown rapidly from 9 to 120 in a few decades, in a region with great tourist traffic and therefore a greater likelihood of conflict”.

Does the temperature change have anything to do with it?
“It can affect the frequency of hibernation, with a higher rate of individuals who do not hibernate, however bears are present in warm countries such as Spain and Greece and there have been no changes in behaviour. As for eating more when they come out of hibernation , it should be specified that bears are omnivores, they also feed on carcasses they find after the thaw, but they have an almost completely vegetarian omnivorous diet depending on the season”.

What will happen with confirmation that it was a fatal bear attack?
“The decision on how to intervene rests with the president of Trentino, who on the basis of a 2018 law can request the felling of the specimen after acquiring the technical opinion of the ispra and can act with an ordinance, if he considers there is an urgency for reasons of public order. As for our role as Ispra, from the moment we are asked for an evaluation we can respond very quickly. However, for genetic analyzes to establish which animal it is, the times are longer: we have I only had the results on the March attack two days ago.”