(ANSA) - Rome, March 19 - Newly appointed Environment Minister Gianluca Galletti must act quickly on an agreement to save the Mariscan brown bear, also known as the Apennine brown bear, an animal in grave danger of extinction, activists said Wednesday. On Monday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reported that a female brown bear was found dead, a significant lose to the rare species of bears, found in the Central Apennine mountains. They have fought against extinction as their numbers have been drastically reduced to less than 48 because of poachers, accidents with vehicles, and poisonings. In response, officials from the ministry of environment, along with National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise and those three regions, announced a protocol was in the works. The agreement "is to rapidly implement solid actions for bear conservation," said Galletti.
"The response must be decisive and determined".