Italy: Mother bear seen with cubs days before being shot

Footage shows the moment a family of bears surprised a crowd in the village of San Sebastiano Dei Marsi, in Italy's Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.

The mother bear has since been shot dead by a man with a rifle, who told park rangers that he was scared after the animal strayed onto his land.

Marco Marsilio, a governor for Abruzzo said the killing was "incomprehensible" and "a very serious act against the whole region that leaves us with pain and anger".

The whereabouts of the cubs are being investigated, so that decisions can be made about what happens with them.