In the summer of 2006….I began writing my best blogs of nature…ever….over Bruno, the German bear. For those who missed on this great reading opportunity….Bruno was a Slovian bear….young and frisky of course….who ventured across the border into Italy, and gain fame by upsetting Italian farmers. At some point….they fired enough buckshot, and forced Bruno the Bear to leave. Sadly, Bruno decided that Bavaria was the place to go. So he crossed the border.
This was the summer of the soccer world cup, and the period of Bruno’s mightiest adventures. For weeks, Bruno trudged across the wunderland of Bavaria….making a name for himself. He was friendly and welcome in the first week. The first bear back in Germany in 170-odd years. Naturally, you should have asked what happened to the last bear and then realize that he was stuffed and placed in a natural history museum in Munich.
So after two week…..Bruno began getting into farmer’s fields….upsetting the local balance of life….and killing pet bunnies of German kids. In essence….he became Bruno the unwanted and unfriendly bear.
So the mighty hunt came. For two weeks….German hunters tried to hunt Bruno down and take him in a humane manner. No luck.
Then the Bavarian political figures got involved and they contracted out some Finnish hunters. The Finns drove for two days, with their fierce hunting dogs and were to make around $35k for this bear. It was a pretty fair sum and got the local hunters all upset. Naturally, some folks wondered why Finns were picked when some American hunters volunteered to do this free? But in the scheme of things….Americans were dislike heavily at this point in time….and Finns were ok.
So on day one of the Finn episode….we came to realize two important facts. Finland is mostly flat. So as the day progressed in the hot days of June….these Finns were out of shape to be wandering around Bavarian hills and mountains. One of the guys had head stroke and another was thought to have a potential heart attack. This was not going to be a hunt in the easy woods of Finland.
Then we came to the dog episode. Their dogs were all big and hairy. Naturally…the heat and hills took a toll on the fierce dogs. By day two….they had shaved down the dogs to the point that they all looked like fierce poodles. The Finns disliked this and the dogs were fairly unhappy. Their fierceness was long-gone by now.
As time went by, we learned that Finns are unique people. They hate social settings. They drink fiercely. And they really can’t speak to another guy….eye-to-eye.
Days passed….and no successful capture or shooting.
So finally….after almost three weeks of this….the Finns were dismissed and the Germans opened this up for professional local hunters. It took four hours to track Bruno down and kill him. The environmental folks were furious and a lot of the locals felt dismayed by the legend of Bruno coming to an end.
Last year….I traveled to Bavaria and saw the stuffed Bruno in the museum there. It was quiet a sight. He was mounted in some giant glass case….with 100-watt bulbs beaming down on top of him.
He looked fierce….at least as much as you could stuff a bear and make him convincing fierce. At the same time….you looked at the time capsule of sorts that wrapped itself around the room. Most of the people in the meseum…were 12-year old kids. I felt out of place….and Bruno was just as much out of place.
I bring all of this up….because late last year, a bear was spotted some 30 kilometers from the German border between Mittenwald and Trentino in Italy. They think he’s Bruno’s half-brother,(MJ4)….yet to be named, but I like the name of Bruno II.
So far, the media is talking of this bear being much more mellower than his destructive brother. The experts admit….no pictures as of yet….and no DNA.
The problem here is that the experts expect this bear to show up in Bavaria this summer. And if things progress like the last episode….Bruno II will meet his end as well. The thing is….as we discovered…it isn’t the Bear that makes the legend….its the other characters…from the local hunters…the Finns….the potential American hunters….and the media. It’s like a 3-ring circus….and anything can happen. So 2009 promises to be one heck of a summer. And my blogging talents? They will be tested to the ninth degree. I may very well write some of the best Steinbeckish blogs ever written.
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