Park rangers present two bear cubs to a small crowd gathered for an event next to the town hall. In 1943 an old bear living in the Park zoo dies and authorities decide to bring new bears to the zoo for visitors to admire. The one-month old bear cubs are taken by the Park rangers after waiting for the mother bear to leave the den. According to the Park, due to the absen-
ce of mother’s care the puppies die within a short time.
Carlo Lombardi from the PNALM photographic archive Lecce dei Marsi (AQ) 1955
Man of anonymous identity poses for a portrait holding two wild bear cubs. The cubs have been separated from their mother and taken to the Park’s zoo in order to replace the deceased bear. According to the Park,
they have died shortly after being captured.
Carlo Lombardi from the PNALM photographic archive Lecce dei Marsi (AQ) 1955
Topographic maps used for research purposes within the Scientific De- partment of the Park. The department consists of biologists and veteri- narians who work with research, conservation and census of fauna and flora, as well as the management of wildlife areas and animals in captivity.
Pescasseroli (AQ) 2021
The view of the concrete water collection tank, in which five bears have drowned between 2010-2018 in the territory outside of PNALM. The bears went down into the pit looking for water and were unable to get out due to the steep walls. In 2018, following the second incident of 3 bears drow- ning, the pit has been filled with stones and an electrified fence has been
installed around it.
Villavallelonga (AQ) 2019
Male Marsican brown bear weighing 108 kg is being rescued. The bear wounded with a rifle is then drugged and transported to the Park head- quarters in Pescasseroli for veterinary treatment. In the absence of special surveillance, a shepherd shoots the bear in the back, breaking its spine. The animal dies despite the Park’s attempts to save it after a long and
excruciating agony. The shepherd receives a small fine of 12,000 lire.
Carlo Lombardi from the PNALM photographic archive Scanno (AQ) 1973
Marsican brown bear hosted at the “visitor center and nature reserve”, The Park’s Visitor Center is an equipped area where it is possible to observe specimens of the main fauna of the Park. The animals hosted by the Visitor Center were not captured in the wild, but they are found injured or with
problems that do not allow them to live in the wild.
Pescasseroli (AQ) 2019
Marsican brown bear cubs deprived of the care of their mother are being nursed by a dog. The cubs, named Villa and Marcolana, have been illegally taken by woodcutters in the area of Aceretta in the municipality of Villa- vallelonga. The bears have been recovered by the Park rangers and then
transferred to the Park headquarters.
Carlo Lombardi from the PNALM photographic archive Pescasseroli (AQ) 1955
A Park ranger chases away a bear using a shotgun loaded with non-lethal bullets. The use of non-lethal weapons against bears is part of the Negati- ve conditioning techniques. It involves continuous and consistent admini- stration of negative stimuli to the bear in order to reduce the manifestation of habituation to humans. The actions, carried out by trained operators, consist of assuming postures of dominance towards the bear, producing
noise and inflicting pain through the use of non-lethal rubber bullets.
Carrito (AQ) 2021
Park ranger detects the position of a radio-collared bear approaching a village. Radio telemetry is a monitoring and research technique based on attaching a radio collar to an animal. It allows to locate and track the mo- vements of animals by the GPS localizations acquired by the collar, as well
as by triangulation through the radio signal emitted by the collar.
Carrito (AQ) 2021
Armando Petrella, Head of the Park rangers, and Leonardo Costini, Secre- tary of the Park, show the skin of a Marsican brown bear. The skin belongs to a bear hit by a train near the Sant’Ilario station between Roccaraso and Alfedena. The animal was recovered by the Park rangers and transported to the headquarters of the Park in Pescasseroli in order to be skinned and analyzed. The report shows that in addition to the crushed skull the bear also suffered a fracture of the pelvis. Animal flaying occurred whenever a bear or a wolf was found dead. The practice was used to perform a rudimentary autopsy on the remains to trace the causes of death and to
recover the body (where possible) for taxidermy.
Carlo Lombardi from the PNALM photographic archive Pescasseroli (AQ) 1976
Actor wearing a carnival mask of the winter propitiatory rites “The bear dance” poses for a portrait. The event starts with the bear man being kept in chains by a tamer and his assistant who force him to dance while thre- atening him with a stick. Occasionally, the group knocks on the doors of the houses and the host families offer drinks and food. The bear dance can also be found in fertility rites and ancient shamanic rites as a means to get into contact with the animal spirits to propitiate a succesful hunt. The event, interrupted with the start of the Second World War, was reproposed
again by the director Pierluigi Giorgio.
Jelsi (CB) 2019
Caves of Stiffe, inside of which the skeleton of a prehistoric cave bear has been found. The bear population of the central Apennines has been described as a subspecies, under the name of Ursus arctos marsicanus, by Giuseppe Altobello, a Molise naturalist who studied the fauna of Molise and Abruzzo, in 1921. Altobello has observed similarities between the skull
of the Marsican brown bear and that of the prehistoric cave bear.
San Demetrio dei Vestini (AQ) 2020