“Since March 25, the day when the bear was released back into the wild, until today, the bear has spent 18 days travelling through the valleys of the Maiella national park, walking around 150 kilometres, feeding off plants and ants,” national park officials said in a statement.

“The bear’s return to Roccaraso was an outcome which, since the start of the translocation project, was considered highly probable.”

The animal is a Marsican brown bear, a rare sub-species which is found only in central Italy. There are only 50-60 left in the wild, making them the rarest type of bear on the planet. They are genetically different to the brown bears which live in the Alps and many other parts of Europe.

The first time the creature was forcibly removed from Roccaraso was in December, when it was airlifted by helicopter to a wilderness area.

After waking up from hibernation in the mountains, the animal demonstrated that it just could not kick its old habits, returning to Roccaraso within days. It was then that the second relocation attempt was launched.

Rangers and officials from Italy’s ministry for ecological transition will now hold a meeting to discuss what next to do with the bear.

One key measure will be to introduce bear-proof wheelie bins so that the animal cannot snack on discarded food.