Humans,
As we continue our “Summer In Italy” menu, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a very special Italian village that is close to my heart. You may not have heard of the tiny enclave called Pettorano sul Gizio in the mountains of Italy, but this little town distinguishes itself from others in the region by its magnanimous love for bears.
In the town square, a life-sized model of a brown bear with its cub is displayed, and paintings of bears adorn the walls. A pub in town sells bear-themed beer. An ursine acquaintance of mine named Barbara tells me that she often stops in for breakfast on the main avenue, her shopping totally undisturbed by humans. I must say, this truly is a shocking experience for a bear who does not yet wear pants.
But this peaceful co-existence between humans and bears did not come easily. The brown bear population in the area thrived after World War II, when the Italian economy boomed and humans moved away into big cities for work. The number of these scarce bears began to grow, but humans forgot how to cohabitate with their bear brethren.
Tensions hit an all-time high about ten years ago during the reign of a bear named Peppina, a 300 pound “problem bear”, who raised cubs (Jalene and Jonah) in the area for several years. She was infamous for her attacks on people’s bees, livestock, and orchards. (Peppina always resented the nickname “Problematic Peppina.” To be fair, from her perspective she was just browsing the buffet.)
Then there was a young male bear named Fabrizio (RIP) that was shot by a farmer after he
“raided” a chicken coop. (Bear lore tells us that he was just scouting a new location for his next still life painting). Many people supported the man, who claimed he was attacked by Fabby. But Marsican bears simply don’t kill humans; as a culture they are shy and artistic, and they even avoid eye contact, which feels to them to be confrontational. This tragedy between farmer and bear artist brought things to a head in the village – they had to do something to bridge the gap between these two groups at odds.
So in 2015, Pettorano sul Gizio became the first “bear-smart” community in Italy. Electric fences were erected to protect bees, chickens, and other farm animals from bears scouting locations for their next creative endevour. Gates and bear-proof bins were installed. Manuals on how best to live alongside bears were distributed around the village and neighboring towns. Residents stewarded their ripe fruit in ways that no longer tempt hungry animals. Though some of these actions seem to assume we bears have limited self control, I can overlook this, and I’m proud to say there have been no conflicts between these groups since 2020. Bears and humans can cohabitate peacefully together. Even bears who don’t wear pants.