It’s called Libero, and the name says it all. On the night between 24 and 25 April 2026, at 2.45 am, the staff of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park completed an operation that lasted almost a month: freeing a Marsican bear from the steel noose that was tightening its neck and which was slowly killing it.
Almost a month of work to save it
The specimen, a male of approximately 10-12 years and 193 kg, had been spotted in the previous weeks in the ecological corridor that connects the Park with the Simbruini Mountains, in the territory of the Municipality of Civitella Roveto. An area outside the protected perimeter, but on which the Park operates continuously.
Capturing him wasn’t easy. Marsican bears are animals of extraordinary intelligence: just a week before the successful operation, the animal had even managed to steal the bait food from the tube trap without becoming trapped. Only when he entered the trap was the capture team able to act, remove the snare and put him to safety.
Poaching does not stop at the Park’s borders
Libero’s story has a happy ending, but it opens a wound that is difficult to ignore. What was killing him was a deliberately placed steel snare — an illegal poaching tool. It’s not even the first time: on 28 September 2017, in the Campoli Appennino area, the Park had already removed a steel noose from the neck of a female bear, F20 Monachella, saved from death at the last minute.
It is not known where Libero was trapped. But the certainty that there are still people willing to spread snares – and poisons, as demonstrated by the recent episodes of wolf massacres – is a signal that cannot be underestimated. Behind these gestures, the Park underlines, there is not only cruelty: there is a direct attack on wildlife, on protection work and on every principle of legality.
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Coexistence is made of concrete gestures
In such a difficult moment, the Park wanted to publicly thank all the technicians and operators who worked tirelessly to save the bear, often in silence and despite their tiredness. Special thanks also went to the Green Cross of Civitella Roveto and to a local citizen who actively supported the operation.
A detail that tells a lot: the coexistence between humans and wildlife is not an abstract concept, but is built day after day, through small gestures of respect and collaboration.
Free today he is alive. This is great news. But this salvation does not erase the horror of the act that started it all.
