A bear that mauled a runner to death has been captured in Italy.

The animal, named Jj4, was lured to a trap in a national park, officials in Trento, northern Italy, said.

The 17-year-old female bear killed 26-year-old Andrea Papi while he was out on a run earlier this month.

Mr Papi’s family have said they do not want the bear to be killed.

After being trapped, Jj4 was sedated and taken to a holding centre, pending a final decision on her fate.

Her three cubs that with her at the time were freed, unharmed.

Trento authorities wanted the bear euthanised but animal rights groups successfully appealed to a court to have the kill order suspended.

Trento’s provincial president, Maurizio Fugatti, said he still hopes Jj4 will be euthanised but campaigners say they are prepared to defend the bear “via all available legal means”.

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Jj4 was born to two bears brought to Italy from Slovenia two decades ago as part of an EU-funded programme to repopulate the brown bear population that had been dwindling to the point of near extinction.

She is the same animal that injured a father and his son walking in Trento in 2020.

Mr Fugatti said Mr Papi’s death could have been avoided if Jj4 had been put down in 2020.

She was due to be killed then but was saved by a legal intervention.

Jj4’s siblings, Jj1 and Jj3, were both put down due to their aggressive behaviour, according to Italian media.

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The Life Ursus project introduced three male and six female bears into the Trento forests in 1999. Since then, the brown bear population has risen to more than 100 identified bears, with increasing encounters with people.

There are now plans to transfer 60 “excess” bears from the region.

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