BEAR-EAK AND ENTER: A rare Italian brown bear notorious for breaking into a bakery has been captured and placed in captivity.

The Guardian reported the marsican bear, affectionately known as Juan Carrito among locals, rose to fame after breaking into a bakery in the Italian region of Abruzzo and feasting on biscuits in December.

Captivity was a last resort for the nuisance bear—it is reported he was initially tranquillised and moved to a remote national park, but returned, later sighted at a ski resort. In the past two years he has also been seen at a train station, strolling the streets and drinking from fountains.

Animal rights activists criticised the decision to place the bear in an enclosure for “problem” animals, but authorities say the move was necessary due to its “confident” behaviour and for its own protection, and is expected to be temporary.

“The intervention was necessary to protect the bear and keep it away from potentially dangerous situations and, in general, from an environment where it has been feeding almost exclusively on waste for too long,” said Lucio Zazzara, the president of the Maiella national park, a home to marsican brown bears.

“Now the priority is to work on its return to nature by implementing the procedures that will enable this to happen.”