It did not take the police long to identify Andrea Papi's killer. His body was found two weeks ago on a mountain in the DolomitesA mountain range in northeastern Italy. - along with traces of his attacker's DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information.. A check matched it to JJ4 - a female brown bear.

Forest rangers with tracker dogs set off in search of her. Once located, she was lured into a trap baited with fruit and tranquillised. From there she was taken to an animal care centre.

The region's governor, Maurizo Fugatti, wanted her killed right away. But two environmentalists filed an appeal with the local courts. The case will be heard on 11 May.

Fugatti believes that if JJ4 is allowed to live she might kill again. Environmentalists argue that she was simply following her instinct to protect her cubs.

In 2014 a mushroom picker suffered cuts and scratches after he came between a bear and her cubs. The bear was was captured, but died as a result of being sedated. Environmentalists were outraged.

Bears almost became extinct in the Alps in the last century. By the 1990s there were only four left. To revive the population, ten bears were brought in from SloveniaA country in Central Europe with a population of just over 2 million.. There are now over 100.¹

Locals were strongly in favour of bringing back the bears. But some people see them as a threat to humans and farm animals.

Attacks by bears are actually very rare. Sweden, which has 4,000 to 5,000 bears, averages one incident a year.²

Marco Antonelli, who works for the World Wildlife Foundation, thinks that Papi's death could have been prevented. He argues that people need to be warned about the dangers that bears pose:

"We should have taken a cue from North America, where there is very specific signage [notifying the public on] the fact that there are bears in the area and how to behave... It is irresponsible to say that bears should be killed."

Yes: Conserving wild creatures is a worthy goal, but not when it involves a risk to human life and to farmers' livelihoods. Environmentalists should focus on smaller and less dangerous animals.

No: Bears are a vital part of the eco-system and it is terrible that they have been hunted and had their habitats ruined by humans. We should leave wild areas to the creatures who originally lived there.

Or... The whole idea of rewilding is misguided. Humans have evolved like every other species to take what they can from the environment. If other creatures get in the way it is their bad luck.  

Dolomites - A mountain range in northeastern Italy.

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid is the material in an organism that carries genetic information.

Slovenia - A country in Central Europe with a population of just over 2 million.