Search for 2 missing cubs after 'incomprehensible' killing of a much-loved mama bear

• An endangered Marsican bear was shot dead by a local man in central Italy.
• Amarena, named for her fondness for black cherries, was popular with park visitors.

A man in Italy fatally shot an endangered bear in what park authorities are calling a "very serious incident."

Amarena, a Marsican brown bear, was often pictured with her cubs in and around the Abruzzo National Park in central Italy, The Guardian reported.

She was shot by a 56-year-old local man who reportedly told police he fired out of fear when the bear entered his property on the outskirts of San Benedetto dei Marsi.

A search for the bear's two cubs is currently underway, with Italy's environment minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, saying that protection of the cubs was a priority. He said his department was "doing everything possible so that they can remain free."

Amarena — named for her fondness for black cherries — was one of only around 60 such bears in the park.

Park authorities say Amarena "she never created any problems for humans," while Marco Marsilio, the president of the Abruzzo region, condemned the "incomprehensible" shooting.

Police confiscated the rifle that the man used to shoot Amarena as part of the investigation. Prosecutors are now looking into a possible charge of animal killing, the LaPresse news agency said.

The Marsican brown bear is endemic to the Apennine Mountains in central Italy and is at risk of extinction.

The World Wide Fund for Nature Italia is seeking to bring civil action against the shooter, saying that the death of Amarena "represents a serious blow to the bear's hopes of survival."

The Marsican brown bear lives in an area of around 5,000 to 8,000 square kilometres in the Appenine Mountains, according to Bear Conservation.

Males can weigh up to around 220 kil0grams (around 485 pounds) and can grow to up to two meters tall, while females weigh up to about 160 kilograms (around 352 pounds) and are shorter, Bear Conservation's website says.

Amarena was reportedly the mother of a bear famed for breaking into a bakery that was killed by a car earlier this year.