The Orso and Friends Association was set up to protect the marsican brown bear which has managec to survive in heavly wooded parts of Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise thanks to its extraordinary survival strategies.
Its adaptability enabled it to cope in an ever-shrinking territory due to diversified land-use and deforestation the centuries. Alas, the numbersof brown bear in the area has now dwindled so much that the species will die out unless our Association can rally help to save it. The members of our Association are well aware that this unique wooded and mountainous area would lose an essential part of its heritage were the brown bear to became extinct. We are equally well aware that this survival is closely linked to the involvement of local residents and those who make their living from the tourist industry. Thus several categories of people including farmers , hunters, tourists, hosteliers and motorbikers need to take the problem to heart and compromise here and there.
