A bear famous for breaking into a bakery has reappeared in his ‘home town’ after a failed attempt to rewild him.
The two-year-old Marsican brown bear walked 150km “home” to Roccaraso. He passed several other towns on his way back to the small mountain town in the Abruzzo region. The bear is affectionately known as Juan Carrito.
Three weeks after being released into the wild, following a spell in an enclosure, Carrito was spotted outside the train station on Tuesday morning. The young bear is a regular visitor to the town. Last November he broke into a bakery, eating a batch of freshly-made biscuits.
As a result, Carrito was captured and exileed to a remote area in the mountains. However, it wasn’t long before he returned, leading to his recapture and period in the enclosure.
Natural, not natural, behaviour
The bear is known to sleep at the entrance to the town. He then searches for food in bins, eating leftover pizza, sandwiches and drinking from the fountains. He is also playful towards dogs.
Experts at Majella national park are monitoring his movements via his radio collar. Before he arrived in Roccarasco, he was detected close to other towns, but he did not drop in.
“It’s a bad thing to say from a nature point of view, but for him, it seems natural to be in Roccaraso, where there is activity, people and other animals,” said Lucio Zazzara, the president of the Majella national park. “Although it seems he only missed it to a certain extent, because for three weeks he substantially lived as a bear, eating food in his natural environment, and didn’t go close to homes, nor did he search in bins for food.”
Continued monitoring of Carrito’s movements and behviour will direct the decision as to whether he is recaptured.
