The Marsican Brown Bear.

The Marsican Brown Bear (Ursus Arctos Marsicanus) originally lived in the entire central and southern Italy. 
This subspecies of brown bear weighs almost 100-150 kilos and when in upright position it reaches a height of nearly 1,80 meters. 

During the centuries it was ruthlessly hunted because there was the belief that it preyed the cattle grazing. Instead, this solitary and shy plantigrade has strictly nocturnal habits and a vegetarian diet for more than 90% (berries, roots, fruits, tubers) and only occasionally it eats small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. 
Sometimes it eats carcasses of large herbivores that it finds in its territory (which is usually from 10 to 200 square kilometers, depending on the food available). 

Today, the poisonings, the traps and the hunt are severely forbidden but this bear is practically relegated only in the Abruzzo National Park with a population of about 40 specimens (in 1969 they were approximately 60). 

This is another proof of how the mankind adversely affects the environment that surrounds him, often without showing a modicum of respect to all the creatures with which he shares this world. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

M13: (sad) story of a bear.

M13 was a brown bear living in the mountains of Trentino. 

He was broken down on February 2013 by Swiss authorities of Cantone Grigioni as he was thought to be a threat for men. 

The bear used to live in the Italian territory, in Trentino, but unfortunately he didn't know the state borders...

In 2012 his brother, called M12, died in a car crash in Bolzano area. 

At the beginning of winter M13 had been captured by the forest rangers, who examined and measured him and then equipped him with a radio collar to monitor his movements. 

Sadly, during the hibernation the collar came off and when M13 awoke he headed towards Switzerland searching for food. 

He was betrayed by a winter made too short by global warming. As he woke up too early, hunger drove him close to population centers. His lack of fear of humans and the obtuseness of Swiss local governments did the rest...

Brown Bear: the situation in the Italian Alps.

In the Italian Alps, there are only 35 brown bears left. 
Reduced to the brink of extinction, the Brown Bear had almost disappeared at the beginning of the last century from the alpine zone, because of poaching and poisonings. 

Today bears are returning but in the Alps people are no more accustomed to their presence and they have lost the precautions for peaceful coexistence. 
Garbage cans, hives and hen houses are devoid of protections and it is clear that they are irresistible temptations for bears. 

Bears are increasingly forced into a fragmented, anthropized habitat and this inevitably leads them more and more in contact with men. 
Damage caused by these animals provokes strong resentment in the local population and this can be eliminated only by an adequate forest policy and by a greater ecological awareness. 

Swedish Big 5: the Bear.

The Brown Bear is an undisputed symbol of the wild and maybe the most magical of Sweden's Big Five predators. It is a mysterious and elusive animal. In effect, notwithstanding the large bear population, few people could tell they have seen one in the wild during their whole life! 

To debunk a myth and remove any doubt about that, in Sweden there are NO polar bears! If you want to see them, the nearest place to go is Spitsbergen (Norway), almost 1000 miles north from Stockholm. 

The bears inhabiting the mountains and forests of Sweden are all Brown Bears (Ursus arctos). 

The Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project in 2004 estimated a swedish bear population in a number between 1635 and 2840 individuals, with an annual increase of 4.7%. 

They are widely distributed in the northern part of the country, especially in the West side. 

As Brown Bears are omnivorous, they eat a wide range of foods, including berries, ants, roots but also bees, voles and even larger animals such as mooses. 

During the autumn, they fatten up in preparation for hibernation, which usually takes place in a disused anthill or a spot at the foot of a large fir tree. 

Mothers give birth to the cubs during the winter in the dens and when they are 6 months old, they're ready to leave their mothers and start a new life on their own. 

In the past, bear hunting was common, but today the Brown Bear is a protected species. 

In Sweden there is the opportunity to take part in beautiful Brown Bear watching, organized by Wild Sweden. Here is the link of their website, so you can take a look! http://www.wildsweden.com/short-tours/brown-bear-watching-from-hide/