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How a small community in Italy turned its home into a ‘bear smart’ town

Pettorano sul Gizio, a small town in central Italy, is calling itself Europe’s first-ever “bear smart community,” interacting with bears that regularly visit in search of food.

DW & The World
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In this file photo, a brown bear places its paws on a giant fruit icicle on a hot day, in Rome’s zoo, June 25, 2019.

Andrew Medichini/AP/File photo

A central Italian village is billing itself as Europe’s first-ever “bear smart community.” 

Pettorano sul Gizio, a small town of about 400 inhabitants, is a place where brown bears regularly wander into gardens.

Around 100 Marsican brown bears live in the surrounding mountains, and they visit the village regularly in search of food.

From our partners at Deutsche Welle, DW, Angelo van Schaik brings us the story of how the community there is dealing with these overly curious ursine visitors.

Click on the blue player above to hear the story.

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