A stray bear has reappeared in his favorite Italian city after an unsuccessful attempt to overwhelm him.
The two-year-old Martian brown bear, known as Juan Carito, walked 150 km “home” to Rocaraso, a small mountain town in the Abruzzo region, bypassing several other towns along the way.
The two-year-old Martian brown bear known as Juan Carito. Photo: Majela National Park
Carito was spotted in front of the station on Tuesday morning, three weeks after he was returned to the mountains after a spell in an enclosure, while experts tried to adapt him to his natural environment.
The bear is a regular visitor to the city and has become a star on social media after breaking into a bakery in Rocaraso last November and eating a batch of freshly made biscuits. The breakthrough led to his capture and expulsion to a remote area in the mountains, but he soon returned, leading to a second capture in early March and a period in the enclosure.
He often slept among the pine trees at the city’s entrance with about 1,500 inhabitants before looking for food, rummaging through bins and eating pizza and sandwich leftovers and drinking from fountains. Carito is also known for his playfulness to dogs.
Its movements are being monitored by experts at Majella National Park, home to rare Martian bears, via its radio collar. In the days before he returned to Rocaraso, he was found near other cities, but did not stop.
“It’s bad to say from a natural point of view, but it seems natural to him to be in Rocaraso, where there is activity, people and other animals,” said Lucio Zazara, president of the Majela National Park. “Although he seemed to miss him only to a certain extent, because for three weeks he lived like a bear, feeding in his natural environment, and did not approach homes or look for food in the bins.
Carito’s movements and behavior will continue to be monitored until a decision is made to recapture him.
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