Germany welcomes wild bear return (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

A wild bear is roaming the German countryside for the first time since 1835, police in the Bavarian Alps say.

Seven sheep carcasses were found in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Sunday, confirming the bear had entered Germany across the nearby Austrian border.

The bear was last spotted on Thursday in a border area in Austria after destroying a beehive.

The region's environment minister said the bear was "welcome in Bavaria" and told people they had nothing to fear.

Austrian wildlife experts who have been following the bear's movements said it was unlikely to approach humans.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5003354.stm

Such savoir-faire, "it's only a bear!".

Will wooly mammoths be next?

[onehandle]

1. Somebody alert Steven Colbert!

ThreatDown!

[wake.up.america]

2. Great. I read about it earlier. Where oh where is this bear?

[baldguy]

3. In Germany, they welcome & celebrate

the return of a major predator to their countryside.

In America, we shoot them.

[happyslug]

4. These are Brown Bears, near relatives of the Grizzly and Polar bears.

The number one bear in the US is the black bear, which in most of its range a pest and NOT endangered (Unlike the European Brown Bear and the Grizzly Bear which are endangered). The Brown Bear survives in isolated pockets throughout Europe but in small numbers.

More on the Brown Bear:
http://www.bears.org/animals/brown/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bear

[baldguy]

5. My little red "x" is supposed to be a pic of a wolf.