A return to the Apennines: a possibility. Where will they go and what future will they have.
In order to expand, bears need individuals to disperse, i.e. to travel in search of new territories in which to find food and mates, taking with them their genetic heritage to pass on. This process can take years, and even many generations of bears, and to facilitate it, it is not only protected areas that are needed, but large connection zones that allow bears to move around safely. Is this possible in the Apennines
A return to the Apennines: a possibility. Where will they go and what future will they have.
In the Apennines, there are about 5000 km2 suitable for bears, rich in forests and inaccessible refuge areas and far enough away from overly populated areas (about 60% is protected territory). There is room for more than 200 bears. A sufficient number to ward off the risk of extinction.
A return to the Apennines: a possibility. Where will they go and what future will they have.
There are safe havens for bears containing the main refuge areas and able to accommodate more than 70 females. Females are the custodians of the bears’ future, as they are the only ones who can originate or trigger new populations.
A return to the Apennines: a possibility. Where will they go and what future will they have.
There are corridors that bears could follow in their dispersion from the PNALM to the rest of the Apennines, where they do not just move, but where they can find everything they need to survive for short or long periods, even for years.
A return to the Apennines: a possibility. Where will they go and what future will they have.
However,the greater the bears’ expansion, the greater the risks that the animals will venture into populated areas and the greater the dangers: roads, conflicts arise from economic damage to livestock farmers and smallholder and from the attraction of some bears to inhabited areas due to the presence of appetising food (food remains, rubbish, poultry houses and orchards). This can make them conditioned and confident, generating problems of safety. However, the greater conflicts are potentially manageable.
