Italy's largest animal is on the brink of extinction
source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/0503/Italy-s-largest-animal-is-on-the-brink-...
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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/0503/Italy-s-largest-...
In the forests of Italy's Abruzzo National Park live one of the rarest creatures on Earth: the Marsican brown bear. For the last several decades the species has been on the brink of extinction -- with current estimates putting their population at less than 50 individuals, down from over 100 in the early 1980s. Recently, a program funded by the EU set out to help preserve the threatened animals, though a sad event today suggests that it may not be enough.Sadly, threats facing the marsican bears are far more numerous than the bears themselves -- from poison intended for other animal and illegal hunting to human development and vehicle strikes. Most, if not all, remaining individuals -- members of a subspecies of European brown bear -- are thought to be living under protection in Abruzzo National Park, but that fact alone hasn't managed to curb their decline.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/0503/Italy-s-largest-animal-is-o...
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- groups:
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- tags:
- Italy, endangered species, Bear, Animal Welfare, 2 more
