Fear is "normal"

Reinhold Messner: There are too many bears in Trentino

Extreme mountaineer Reinhold Messner is of the opinion that there are too many bears in Trentino.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/bayazed APA/dpa/Roland Weihrauch Krone KREATIV,)

Extreme mountaineer Reinhold Messner believes that there are now too many bears in Trentino. "I am close to the world of farmers, who now have an additional problem, namely that of large predators, from bears to wolves. The bear needs large areas," said the South Tyrolean.

Bears become dangerous if they do not have enough territory and come close to communities. It is normal to be afraid when you encounter them. "Either you shoot them if they are dangerous, or you send them to the Carpathians where there is space," said Messner. "In our mountains, the bears have disappeared for 130 years because the farmers could no longer tolerate them. The problem is living together with predators," the 79-year-old explained in an interview with the Italian daily newspaper "La Stampa" on Thursday.

Either you shoot them if they are dangerous, or you send them to the Carpathian Mountains where there is space.

Reinhold Messner zu Bären im Trentino

"Crazy threatening letters"
 He receives "crazy threatening letters" because of his position. As reported, rangers shot the "problem bear" M90 in Trentino on Tuesday. The animal had been following two friends who were walking along a forest path in the municipality of Mezzana. It approached them to within ten meters and then ran off.

Analysis revealed that it was the M90 bear, which was considered dangerous because it had repeatedly shown excessive familiarity with humans in the past. It was also often found on urban and peri-urban roads.

Intensified debate
Since the death of a jogger last April, the debate about the coexistence of bears and humans has intensified in Italy. Animal rights activists have repeatedly called for people to be made more aware of wild animals or for wildlife corridors to be set up. According to the province of Trento, the number of bears in the area has increased massively since the EU "Life Ursus" project 24 years ago. Instead of the planned 50, around 100 specimens have settled in the area so far.