Get to know bears and the Apennines, a unique combination of nature and culture

Listen to the bear’s story: a tale thousands of years old

Discover what connects bears and ants and the many surprising bonds that hold an ecosystem together

Make a choice that affects the future of the bear and all of us

A journey between science and emotion to discover Apennine bears and their mountains

Fifty brown bears survive in the wild heart of Italy, between the regions of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. L’Orso e la Formica (The Bear and the Ant) is a multimedia initiative created to tell the wonderful natural and cultural history of these special animals and their mountains through scientific data and engaging images, with the aim of inspiring greater awareness for their conservation.

Follow us on this journey, because every month you will find fresh stories, news and insights.
To better enjoy the multimedia content of the site we recommend a desktop view.

A special berry

A tiny but sweet fruit’s incredible attraction for bears

Who's the bear

READING TIME 11 MIN

Love and courtship

The love life of bears has all the ingredients of a tale of knights and chivalry.

The social bear

READING TIME 18 MIN

The omnivorous bear

A bear’s diet is an explosion of energy and nutrition

Who's the bear

READING TIME 8 MIN

The tree of plenty

Beechnuts are genuine calorie bombs for bears

Who's the bear

READING TIME 10 MIN

An environment for every season:
bears have their favourite places.

FIND OUT WHY

L’Orso e la Formica is online!

5 February 2021

Today, after five years of passionate work among the forests of the Apennines and the archives of the most important scientific magazines, we are launching L'Orso e la Formica, a multimedia journey between emotion and science to get to know Apennine bears and their mountains.