He narrowly escaped death. A 33-year-old hiker was attacked by a she-bear in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, on the Lazio side of the protected area. The episode - as reported by the Abruzzo Web information site - would have occurred last Wednesday in San Donato Valcomino, along the hairpin bends of Provincial Road 666 for Forca d'Acero.
The young man, a resident of Frusinate, was taking his dog for a walk: he suffered an injury to the abdomen and leg. At one point he would have come face to face with the protected animal who would have attacked him first with a paw and then with a bite to the abdomen.
Despite his injuries, the 33-year-old would have managed to escape from the animal's clutches and find shelter in a tree. Then, thanks to his dog who distracted the bear, he got into the car and went to ask for help.
Transferred to the emergency room of the Santa Scolastica hospital in Cassino, he received a twenty-day prognosis. The young man turned to a lawyer to ask for compensation.
The national park of Abruzzo Lazio Molise has released a note to "make some order and clarity to avoid the many possible exploitations". The facts date back as far as 21 December, «and the first news arrived at the Park on the morning of the 22nd when the interested party called the Surveillance Service to report the disappearance of his dog following the event, summarized in a brief telephone conversation". And again: «On 23 December the dog was found in San Donato in good health, without a trace of the leash and returned to the owner».
