Mo Ganji: Marsican Brown Bear | Marsischer Braunbär | Ursus arctos marsicanus | No. 128/250 from work group 8/99

Marsican Brown Bear | Marsischer Braunbär | Ursus arctos marsicanus

Mo Ganji’s single line engages the Marsican brown bear — a large terrestrial mammal inhabiting the forested mountains of central Italy — by allowing the being’s inner coherence to surface without emphasis on power, mass or dominance. The continuous line holds a concentrated core of presence, enough to suggest life while remaining open to meanings beyond the category of “bear.” In this exposure of the essential, form appears before mythology or fear can take hold.

Ursus arctos marsicanus is not assessed separately on the IUCN Red List, as it is considered a subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), which is listed globally as Least Concern (LC). However, the Marsican population is widely regarded as Critically Endangered at the regional level due to its extremely small size and isolation. Fewer than 60 individuals are believed to survive, confined almost entirely to the central Apennines, primarily within and around Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.

The principal threats include habitat fragmentation, human disturbance, road mortality, illegal killing, and the long-term risks associated with very low genetic diversity. Although the bears coexist relatively peacefully with local communities, their limited range and slow reproductive rate leave little margin for recovery. Conservation success depends on strict protection, landscape connectivity and sustained coexistence measures.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the bear can be encountered beyond strength or emblematic presence. It invites attention to a life existing at the threshold of continuity, quietly reminding us that even where nature seems protected, survival may rest on the most fragile balance — and that recognizing ourselves as part of this balance is inseparable from allowing such singular lives to persist.