Paolo Ciucci, Andrea Benazzo, Giorgio Bertorelle, Luigi Boitani, Ian Marc Bonapace, Stefano Civitarese, Paolo Colangelo, Elisa Desiato, Aurora Donatelli, Giulia Fabbri, Daniela Gentile, Leonardo Gentile, Vincenzo Gervasi, Patrizia Giangregorio, Jenny Glikman, Roberta Latini, Anna Loy, Luigi Maiorano, Filippo Marino, Nadia Mucci, Paula Mayer, Mario Posillico, Elisabetta Tosoni

Apennine brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) are a relict, small, and highly inbred population, isolated from other European brown bear populations for millennia. Estimated at approximately 50 individuals in 2014, they have been regarded as a “natural experiment,” persisting against considerable odds and contrary to theoretical expectations. The establishment of the Abruzzo National Park (PNALM) in 1922, along with sustained conservation efforts, has been crucial to their continued survival. However, in spite of long-standing legal protection and conservation measures, no clear demographic recovery and range expansion beyond their historical core has occurred over recent decades. The population remains exposed to a high risk of extinction due to its extremely small size and severely depleted genetic diversity, which favors the accumulation of deleterious mutations. A 2008 review highlighted that an unexpected yet substantial threat to the long-term persistence of Apennine brown bears was the enduring scarcity of robust scientific knowledge. Since the mid-2000s, however, a renewed research effort—initiated by a 5-year field study conducted in the PNALM—has generated novel data on their natural history and population ecology, fostering extensive multidisciplinary collaboration and substantial gains in scientific insights. While the expansion of knowledge—supported by outreach and stakeholder engagement, including local NGOs—has been instrumental in raising social awareness and participation, it also prompted management authorities to commit to renewed conservation efforts and coordinated, inter-institutional actions. In this work, we review the past 18 years of research across diverse disciplines on this bear population, critically evaluating the expected conservation outcomes. We also examine how a lack of accountability and gaps in the science-policy interface remain major obstacles to a more effective, long lasting conservation of this iconic population.

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