Missing Marsican bear spotted in park

(ANSA) - L'Aquila, July 25 - A rare female brown bear known to scientists as Gemma, who worked herself free of a radio tracking device more than two weeks ago, was sighted Friday, calming fears that the animal had been injured or worse.
    Gemma has become a popular symbol for Italy's National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, and was spotted in the countryside near the town of Scanno.
    The tracking device has allowed park naturalists to study the rare Marsican bear and also try to prevent her from coming into contact with humans, including residents in villages inside the park.
    By analyzing DNA samples from hair left in a chicken coop, they were confident that Gemma is in "excellent" health and had likely only yanked off her radio collar.
    Many people feared the worst when her radio collar was found.
    One year earlier in the park, authorities said that another brown bear was "brutally murdered," likely by several poachers in the national park who shot the animal "execution style" with numerous bullets to its head from different weapons.
    Park authorities said then that it was important to catch the culprits, to protect a national park's reputation and preserve its wildlife.
    National park President Antonio Carrara said he had not been too worried about Gemma.
    "From the beginning, despite the legitimate concerns, we were convinced that the Gemma the bear had not been a victim of poachers or reckless (behavior)," he said.
    He also dismissed fears raised about their welfare following a petition from residents of Scanno who say the bears, including Gemma, have lost their fear of humans and venture too close to the village.
    "On the contrary, it was found that ...great attention was paid to the fate of the bear," he said.
    Park rangers will try to capture Gemma in the coming days to refit her with a new radio collar.
    The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has urged the Italian government to take action to protect the Marsican brown bear, also known as the Apennine brown bear, an animal the WWF says is in grave danger of extinction.
    The numbers have been reduced to about 48 because of poachers, accidents with vehicles, and poisonings.