Switzerland's only wild bear is killed as a danger to humans

[cali]

M13 was the only bear known to have been living wild in Switzerland, according to the Swiss national broadcaster.

Despite that status, the young male was shot Tuesday morning in Poschiavo Valley, in the Alps near the Italian border, by authorities who feared he was a threat to people.

The brown bear had become dangerous because he regularly sought out food in inhabited areas -- including a school -- and had started following people during the day, the Swiss Federal Environment Office said.

The creature also showed little fear of humans despite several attempts to get it away from villages, it said.

<snip>

"The bear M13 had certainly never showed any aggression toward man, but the risk that an accident might happen and that people might be badly injured or killed had become intolerable," it said.

<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/21/world/europe/switzerland-bear-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

[onehandle]

1. That's Switzerland for you. They are 'neutral' for a reason.

The Nazi gold island doesn't give a shit what anyone thinks about them.

Nonetheless, news of his death prompted grief and outrage on a Facebook page set up by supporters of M13. Some questioned why he wasn't relocated or placed in a zoo rather than being shot by wildlife officers.

The Swiss branch of the World Wildlife Fund environmental campaign group said it was "extremely disappointed" that the bear was killed.

Joanna Schoenenberger, an expert on bears at the WWF, said it was far too soon to shoot M13.

M13 "was in no way a problem bear," she said, adding that wildlife officers should have continued efforts to make him more frightened of humans.

[joeybee12]

2. That sucks...

They didn't have to kill it...they could have brought it to some zoo or rescue facility if deemed a risk...he was the sole bear left, you dicks.

[life long demo]

3. Who said humans were the intelligent species?

Sometimes you just want to.........

[TM99]

4. Well this deeply saddens me.

I have an abiding love for bears ever since I was kid. This is just tragic.

[Yo_Mama]

5. The Germans had a bear wander in years ago.

It got shot too.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jun/26/animalwelfare.germany

I was just reading the thread about kids left to sleep outside in prams during the winter - which is common in parts of Europe - and I wondered what the Danes would do if they lived in close proximity to bears. A woman in NY lost her child which she had left outside for fresh air in a stroller when a bear wandered by and had picked the baby up for lunch:
http://igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2002/bear_kills_new_york2.html

I don't think most Europeans are prepared to live in proximity with large predators the way Americans do.

[TM99]

7. Sure, true, but

there had to have been other solutions besides killing it - a zoo, a habitat, etc.

[Yo_Mama]

9. I think this one came from the same attempt to repopulate the Alps

Maybe they just don't have the infrastructure. In the US, the bear would probably have been sedated and transported to a safer locale, but they don't have the experience.

Eventually maybe they will set up programs.

Edit:
What I mean that is a viable population of bears would overcome available zoo places - they would need a different program to deal with a substantial wild population. Any time you have a decent sized population there will be overlap between human and bear spaces. The thing about the school seems to have freaked them out. But the public safety officials don't have any experience and probably don't have people who do have the experience to call. In the US we have wildlife people to whom all of this is old hat.

[TM99]

10. I hope so

but in this case, it seems to late to set up a program.

[Yo_Mama]

12. For this bear, sure.

But it won't be the last time something like this happens, will it? More background.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/brown-bears-in-the-alps-the-great-bear-comeback-a-383038.html

[TM99]

14. Thanks for the link.

I am glad to see they are still trying.

[MineralMan]

6. All of Europe used to be populated by bears.

Over time, as the human population grew and population density with it, bears were systematically eliminated. In the US, we have enough open land for bear populations to live without having to deal too much with humans. When the bears show up in town, though, they are often killed. Living in a large city in Minnesota, though, I live near a railroad corridor that cuts through the city. Bears have been sighted in that right-of-way, as they find it an easy way to travel. As long as they stay out of people's yards, they are pretty much left along. Tons of deer, too, use those long railroad right-of-ways as a highway between places they want to go.

[elfin]

13. And besides cave bears, they named the city Bern after their favorite symbol. Eom

[SidDithers]

8. What about the bear's due process rights?!?...nt

Sid

[MineralMan]

11. My parents own a small citrus and avocado farm in California.

Bears regularly visit their orchard when the fruit is ripe. They gorge themselves on it. My folks just enjoy watching them.