Deep in Italy's Central Apennine mountains lives a bear found nowhere else on Earth — and for the first time, scientists have counted nearly every one of them. A landmark census carried out in 2025 estimated that around 81 Marsican brown bears now roam these rugged slopes, a small but stable population that is showing the first hopeful signs of expanding beyond its historic home.
The Marsican brown bear is one of Europe's most endangered large mammals. Just a few decades of steady conservation work have kept it from vanishing entirely. But protecting one national park was never going to be enough. For this rare bear to truly recover, individual animals must be able to wander into new territory, find food, and live peacefully alongside people who welcome them.
That is exactly what the Rewilding Apennines team is working toward through the EU-funded LIFE Bear-Smart Corridors project. Along large-scale corridors linking protected areas, they are installing electric fencing, rolling out bear-proof waste bins, restoring old orchards, and supporting local communities and small businesses. The idea is simple: for a bear to thrive beyond the park, the whole landscape needs to be "bear-smart."
The new census shows why this matters. Researchers from ISPRA and Sapienza University analysed 854 hair samples across roughly 6,000 square kilometres — the most complete survey ever done of the species. They genetically identified 70 individual bears and estimate the total population at around 81, including 43 females and 38 males.
The numbers tell a two-part story. In the historic core centred on the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, the population has held steady — or even crept up slightly — over the past decade, with about 56 bears calling it home. When newly colonised areas like Valle Roveto and the Monte Genzana Alto Gizio Reserve are included, that figure climbs to 65, suggesting these landscapes now support one continuous, connected population.
But the study also found how much work remains. Bear density in the core sits at about 4.4 bears per 100 square kilometres — roughly ten times higher than the 0.4 bears per 100 square kilometres found in peripheral areas. The researchers discovered that habitat quality alone doesn't explain these low numbers. Instead, bears are still clustered near the historic core, and areas connected by good corridors support far more bears than equally distant but isolated landscapes. Where human-caused deaths — from road collisions, poisoning, and poaching — are higher, fewer bears survive.
The good news is that these findings point the way forward. With better connections and less human-caused harm, scientists believe these landscapes could support many more bears. For the first time, conservationists have a clear picture of the Marsican bear across its entire range — a stable heartland, the first stirrings of expansion, and a proven recipe for helping one of Europe's rarest creatures find its way back home.