Editor's note

Bears once lived all over Europe. Then, as humans gradually turned their forests into farms, the bears retreated into the continent's remotest corners. Most of these remnant populations have long since died off, but 50 bears are still lingering in a mountainous corner of central Italy. They have been cut off from all other bears for at least six centuries, writes Carlo Meloro, and they're evolving into a new subspecies.

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Will de Freitas

Environment + Energy Editor

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Antonio Nardelli / shutterstock

Italy has its own subspecies of bear – but there are only 50 left

Carlo Meloro, Liverpool John Moores University

Of the 14 subspecies of brown bear, this is the most endangered.

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