The bear is a resilient species towards the enemy:the human being

The bear is one of the most resilient species on the planet by virtue of its intelligence and adaptability.However, he has an enemy:we humans.

The latest news isn't the best. Another bear – a female – died, perished due to human incompetence and its lack of tolerance for the existence of species other than ours.The news is merciless.It is a female, killed in Trentino during capture operations in Val Concei for an operation necessary to replace the radio collar he had been wearing since July 2021.The bear was defined F43 – the acronym already gives an idea of ​​materiality and the reduction of a living being to an inanimate thing, without identity – and it died following the position taken in the “tube trap” used to capture it, when the anesthetic has taken effect.It is not the first time that a bear has been killed in the region during capture operations.The best known victim is Daniza, who left her cubs orphaned.It was 2014.This new tragic episode occurs in conjunction with the publication of a research which defines bears as one of the most species resilient of the planet.A nice thing, of course, if it didn't clash with human beings and their often absurd rules.

The bear is an intelligent and resilient animal

We have become accustomed to seeing images of polar bears on dangerous icebergs in the Arctic seas.Animals in search of prey, hungry and in danger of death, victims of a crazy climate that is decreeing their rapid extinction.In contrast, however, here is a recent scientific research published on eLife which shows how these plantigrades, especially bears grizzly, they would not be animals that suffer serious problems for the climate changes in progress.On the contrary, according to the results of the study, it is one of the most long-lived and resilient species on our planet.The scholars collected data on the variation in the populousness of 157 sort of mammals of various sizes and correlated them to the climate conditions of their habitats over a period of at least 10 years.The study focused mainly on the effects caused by long periods of drought or of rains and analyzed the reaction of populations (in terms of number of individuals and ability to calve) to extreme climatic conditions.This all highlighted a pattern:Animals that live a long time and have few offspring are less vulnerable than those that live for a short time and are particularly prolific.An example of this is i lama they elephants compared to mice, garlic opossum and to some marsupials such as woylie.

“It is well established that thebear it is one of the animals with the largest deductive intelligence.In fact, he is able to solve new problems through reasoning and taking advantage of what the environment makes available to him,” he explains Mauro Belardi, biologist and president of the Eliante cooperative which operates in the field of environmental sustainability.“On a behavioral level – continues Belardi – it manages to implement a very vast range of strategies and, despite being a highly studied species, it still amazes experts.We know, for example, that there are no physical barriers capable of preventing access to a bear determined to overcome them, but also that psychological barriers (electric shock, protective dogs, expectation of tiring and long manipulation) almost always work, precisely because the bear thinks before acting.Among the less obvious aspects of his intelligence there is also the extreme ability to manage his immense strength, which he uses very prudently and only when necessary, also showing delicacy and very fine manual skill.A bear is able to knock down a horse with one paw, but also to take grapes from a vineyard one by one.The fact that it is a long-lived species, usually living less than 25 years in the wild, increases its ability to store experiences."And therefore also the different way of dealing with the crazy climate and its consequences.

“Looking instead at the ecological characteristics of the bear – continues Belardi – we must however talk about a species that is less resilient than others as could be, for example, the wolf.The bear, in fact, is not able to rapidly colonize new areas:females move very slowly from the place where they were born and overall some of their ecological needs, at least in the reproductive phase, but also in the hibernation and pre-hibernation phase, are not to be underestimated.So much so that we cannot say exactly whether this large plantigrade is in a good state of conservation and out of danger in any case.Europe“.In this regard, however, it should be noted that in Italy the situation on Alps is decidedly positive and we are approaching the "ideal" number of 100 subjects.

“The main problem is represented in Italy by the fact that females are still almost totally confined in the Western Trentino, in a very limited area.The future of the bear in the Alps therefore depends on the ability of the species to be accepted outside Trentino.In the Apennines the'Marsican bear instead it seems stable and stands at around 40-50 individuals, showing interesting colonization drives towards the outside of the historical range", concludes the expert.The main problems remain for plantigrades the poaching, The investments caused by cars or heavy vehicles, and the difficult management of some confident individuals as happened, unfortunately, with Daniza and the bear who recently died during capture.

When enemy number 1 is us

A resilient species, therefore, that of the bear is able to adapt to climate changes and adverse environmental conditions.But, perhaps, it is precisely this extreme adaptability that makes it one of man's main victims.In Trentino, unfortunately, Daniza and the F43 bear were not the first victims among the plantigrades present in the region.All guilty of being too confiding with humans, perhaps attracted - as happens with other wild animals, especially wild boars - by waste left unattended, by open houses, by people's naive attempts to approach a wild animal.“It is important to keep the spotlight onM49 bear, who is forced right in Trentino to lead a life incompatible with the term animal welfare.And we are talking about an explorer animal, used to covering long distances and with natural rhythms that are difficult to replicate in captivity.On these "life sentences" given to wild animals defined as "confident" or "problematic", a ethics committee, because life in captivity could be worse than death and it would be appropriate to take paths compatible with their nature, designed according to science and conscience and not according to convenience, as too often happens", he notes Ermanno Giudici, writer and blogger.

Juan Carrito, a bear as testimonial

But on the path to peaceful coexistence between different species, wild in the lead, positive news finally arrives that transforms the hunter and invasive bear into a testimonials free of the goodness of a product.He thought about itBeekeeping Colle Salera who elected the young man Juan Carrito (the name comes from the fact that he was spotted with his mother and brothers near Carrito, a hamlet of Ortona dei Marsi), a bungling bear and a bit of a thief, often a visitor to the Abruzzo municipality of Roccaraso, a testimonial of his organic honey.

Juan Carrito has been caught with his paws in the honey several times.But the company has seen fit to take advantage of this passion, without demonizing nature and its inhabitants.Indeed, trying to establish an ideal bridge between human needs and those, all natural, of bears.And we can swear that with the little thief in sight, sales will skyrocket, at least among those who love these resistant plantigrades greedy for the sweet nectar produced by bees.