Bear who killed Italian jogger in 2023 arrives at German sanctuary

A female brown bear who killed a jogger in the Italian Alps in 2023 has reached Germany and is resting in the sanctuary where she is due to stay following a long-running dispute over her future.

The bear, known as JJ4 or Gaia, has been transferred to a high-security enclosure at the Alternative Wolf and Bear Park in Germany's Black Forest in the south-west of the country.

Accompanied by a team from the park, Gaia reached Germany at 6 am (0400 GMT). Her 9-hour journey from Italy went well, staff said. "She is being cared for, has eaten and is behaving calmly."

Gaia was sedated before the transfer in order for her to be lifted into the box. But the group only departed once she had regained consciousness to prevent her from being thrown around during the trip.

Every two hours, she was offered water and fruit containing glucose, such as apples and pears. Vital signs such as pulse and heart rate were constantly monitored by sensors during the journey.

Gaia was initially extremely agitated and nervous and repeatedly launched mock attacks upon arrival in Germany, a park spokeswoman said.

That meant staff could only put her in a preliminary enclosure that was closed at the top and surrounded by steel bars, the spokeswoman said.

Jogger killed in 2023

Gaia will probably only be transferred to the large high-security enclosure where she will live in future on Monday.

The bear attacked and killed a jogger on a popular mountain path in the northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige in April 2023.

The animal was captured and taken to an enclosure near the city of Trento. Regional president Maurizio Fugatti ordered Gaia to be killed, but courts stopped the decree after petitions by animal rights activists.

Gaia was set to be transferred to Germany in 2024, but construction of the €1 million ($1.1 million) enclosure, funded through donations, faced significant setbacks due to heavy rainfall in the mountainous, wooded terrain.

The date of her transfer from Italy was initially kept secret amid fears of protests.

Jurka, Gaia's mother, has been housed at the animal sanctuary since 2010.

Gaia is also due to be renamed, as a wolf at the sanctuary has the same name. "We don't want to exhibit her as a 'killer bear'," the spokeswoman said.

'She will never be happy again'

The space where the bear is to live is shielded from the public and has an electric fence, camera surveillance and anti-digging protection to prevent her from escaping.

Keeping her in captivity was the worst possible solution, the spokeswoman said, adding captivity is a nightmare for a wild bear.

Gaia had lived in the wild for almost two decades and raised cubs there. "Shooting her would have been more humane," she said.

Gaia's admission is to be the last of a wild bear in the Black Forest Bear Park. Two other wild bears have been living in the park for a long time – Jurka, Gaia's mother, and her half-sister Isa. However, experience with these two has shown how much wild bears still suffer in captivity, even after many years.

In captivity, the bears' urge for freedom is gradually being broken, the spokeswoman said. While Gaia will eventually resign herself to her fate, the process could take years. "She will never be happy again."

Brown bears protected

Brown bears are protected in Europe by a range of agreements and also under an EU directive.

Only bears deemed to be a problem may be captured, relocated and, if necessary, shot. This rarely happens, and the shooting of Bruno, Gaia's brother, in June 2006 in the Rotwand area of Bavaria, led to outrage.

Bears generally tend to avoid humans but there have been several encounters in Italy's Trentino region which is popular among tourists.

The animals occasionally venture closer and closer to farms and villages in search of food.

Mother bears in particular can be dangerous when they fear for their young. Gaia also had her cubs with her when she encountered the jogger.