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Bruno Was a Bear

Once upon a time, a curious brown bear named Bruno travelled all the way from northern Italy, roamed through mountainous Austria, and descended into the Alpine foothills of Germany.

 

There, Bruno feasted on sheep and rabbits, invaded bee hives to get at sweet honey, and once slept in front of the police station of the Bavarian village, Kochel-am-See.

 

While Bruno was welcomed by many villagers and mayors alike, some people were afraid of Bruno and worried that something bad would happen someday.

Bruno was chased by hunters asked by the Bavarian government to kill him. Many people protested, and the government changed their mind... but only briefly.  At the last minute, someone said the hunters could go ahead and kill him.

 

Bruno perished in an Alpine valley on Monday, June 22, 2006. Bruno was 2 years old.

 

He was the first bear seen in Germany since 1835.

 

History and more info
COMMENTS
JuDeck said at 11:08 a.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Poor Bruno.
Chrisengles said at 11:23 a.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Great picture - how did you shoot it?
Pkeener said at 11:24 a.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Jeff, I want more info! This sounds like a true story that I am not aware of.
Pkeener said at 11:25 a.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
PS GREAT SHOT! is it a 4x5 or 8x10 plate??
Shenresi said at 11:34 a.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
I was so sorry, when they killed Bruno , they only had to catch him and transportate him in another country, where he has space enough for for himself. I hate the Barvarians, ore better Barbarians, for that
Jillcdunn said at 11:52 a.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
What a wonderful picture (and sad story). I'm with Pam--is this a true story? I'd be interested in finding out.
Engelgrafik said at 12:25 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Chris and Pam, I shot it with a Graflex Speed Graphic 4x5" with Polaroid back. The film is old Polaroid Type 59. It's not a pro film, it's used for art and emulsion lift / image transfer, but I like the weird colors and I have tons of it I got for cheap (expired).
Engelgrafik said at 12:31 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Shenresi, don't have to hate the Bavarians, just the government. There are plenty of wonderful people in Bavaria, and it's such a magical place. And don't forget, many people in Bavaria and around the world protested against the kiling of Bruno. You can read the whole history of Bruno here: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,k-6937,00.html There are pictures (be sure to check them out) and stories from last year. Believe it or not, there were people looking for Bruno's mother as well because she went "out of bounds" from Italy as well.
Noe said at 1:32 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Poor Bruno... nice shot!
Engelgrafik said at 1:51 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Good news is that more bear signs have been noticed in the South Tyrol area of Austria (this is the area on the border of Italy to the south and Tyrol and Germany to the north). So it looks like Italy's plan to repopulate the Alps with bears is working to some effect. If you can read German, here is a blog dedicated to Bruno: http://blog.brunoderbaer.de/?p=86
Chiloedream said at 5:02 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Poor BRUNO. En France, les ours meurent aussi. Si ils ont toujours été présents dans les Pyrénées, le maintien de l'espèce doit être soutenu par l'apport de spécimens principalement en provenance de Slovénie. L'année dernière, un premier ours a été tué par un chasseur "pris de panique" et plus récemment, une femelle a été renversée et tuée accidentellement par une voiture, pour la plus grande joie des anti-ours, principalement les éleveurs de moutons... En France, les ours c'est comme la politique, ils divisent le pays en 2 clans, partisans et opposants... Moi je suis POUR L'OURS (et pour Sarkozy). Merci pour ce témoignage, amitiés.
Applegirllayla said at 5:25 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
How sad... poor Bruno. Thanks for the link. It seems that just when our world is becoming enlightened on our need to co-exist we read stories like this... I read about it often here in the good ol' US of A... people build housing developments and then complain about and often kill the wildlife - deer, wolves, mountain lions...

I love teddy bears, btw. I used to collect them (before I had to stop collecting stuff.) Beautiful use of lighting.
Ciudi said at 5:44 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Impressive story
Mashpee_Paula said at 6:21 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Thank you Jeff ~ this is a great way to bring attention to this issue!!! Great picture too! Hope you are having a good summer! :)
Nmat said at 6:23 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Unbelievable, but of course believable. According to the website you furnished, the people of Bavaria have been in mourning for Bruno, so it was not their choice that this happened. The controversy about wild foxes in England is another instance of this nonsense -- the last predator in the UK. Here in ABQ we get up in arms if someone kills a prairie dog, but ranchers in the southwestern part of the state want to eliminate the Mexican wolves (lobos) that were re-introduced into the wilderness just a few years back after their previous extermination.
Floridamolle said at 8:42 p.m. on Aug 17, 2007:
Very interesting story, and also a interesting photo. Being from North Sweden where there still are vast areas of wilderness and bear,eagles, bobcats and wolfs. (Although DDT and other human activities almost extincted then in the 60-70s, but they came back) I always have wondered why some people don't understand the importance of a living nature. Many areas in central Europe, especially in Germany have no nature and maybe they are so used to it so every wild animal is looked at as an intruder. Great work Jeff
DEE-Trow said at 9:28 a.m. on Aug 18, 2007:
Such a sad story but a wonderful old picture.
Abking said at 9:55 p.m. on Aug 18, 2007:
Sad story from this crazy world and your photo is the perfect illustration for your narrative.
GeorgePL said at 11:28 a.m. on Aug 19, 2007:
Excellent picture and story. I was on the NY Thruway south of Albany, this week and saw six or seven wild turkeys and five deer! It's really great to see wildlife like that and I hope they never become extinct.
Katerina said at 10:04 a.m. on Aug 20, 2007:
I love the title and the sad story. Contact between species? always problematic!
Terrific, as usual.
Banafsheh looked at some of my photos this weekend, and she paid me the compliment of saying, "this looks like one of Jeff's photos!"
Banafsheh said at 7:09 p.m. on Aug 20, 2007:
You know what they say (Navojo) : "if you kill simply to kill soon you 'll become the hunt , the spirit of the Bear will follow and ...
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