A second bear has been found dead from gunshot wounds in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, just hours after a 2.5-month-old cub was discovered killed in the same wider area.

The adult bear was found on Friday night along the Florina–Kozani section of the Egnatia Odos highway, one of Greece’s main road networks. According to the environmental organization Arcturos, the animal had suffered multiple gunshot injuries to the neck and back.

The discovery came after the earlier finding of a young bear cub in the Pyolori area of the Municipality of Voio, in Kozani. The cub, aged just 2.5 months, was found dead with three bullet wounds to the head.

The incident was reported by the environmental organization Kallisto, which condemned the killing as a criminal act.

The repeated deaths have drawn attention to the illegal killing of bears, a protected species in Greece, with environmental groups raising concerns over threats facing wildlife in the region.