Bear attacks tourist in Italy

A foreign tourist was hospitalized after being attacked by a bear in northern Italy on Tuesday, local authorities said.

According to the news agency AGI, the victim was a 43-year-old French tourist who was jogging.

It was said that his life was not in danger.

“This morning a foreign tourist was attacked by a bear in Naroncolo, in the municipality of Dro, north of Lake Garda, according to a statement from the province of the city of Trento.

“The man was treated by paramedics and flown by helicopter to the Santa Chiara hospital in Trento with injuries to his limbs.”

The forestry authorities are currently investigating, the province said.

According to the provincial authorities, there are about 100 bears in the wider Trentino region.

In April 2023, a jogger in Trentino was killed in a bear attack on a forest path, sparking a debate about the dangers posed by the animals, which were reintroduced to the region between 1996 and 2004.

This plan envisaged the introduction of only 50 bears, but their numbers have increased in recent years.

The bear accused of killing the jogger – who activists claimed was innocent – was separated from her cubs and placed in an enclosure after the incident.

After numerous appeals from animal rights activists, the state authorities announced in May that the bear with the identification number JJ4 would be brought to an animal shelter near the Black Forest in Germany this year.

AFP

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