Mr Badger
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Are you concerned that doing so might muffle your voice?And the independent is another lefty rag I wouldn't even wipe my bum with.
Are you concerned that doing so might muffle your voice?And the independent is another lefty rag I wouldn't even wipe my bum with.
The apparent pride in your indifference to cruelty is worrying.I am fully aware of it but it is delicious so yes I love it. And the independent is another lefty rag I wouldn't even wipe my bum with.
Indeed. Farmers, bloody nuisance, total extermination the only way. First they came for the farmers then they came for the fotografers ... .The Internet. Its amazing what's out there in local news outlets. Start with searching bear attack pyrenees and you'll find several cases of live stock been killed, farmers are up in arms about it and a hiker attacked in Lescun. My view - total extermination is the only way.
I’m not going to look it up but I bet you more people are killed by bees than wolves . What about cars?More importantly look up the effect of wolves on people - not many attacks but enough to pose enough concern to say they are a bad idea. Any large apex predator is and total elimination of them IMHO is the only way to ensure complete safety of human life in remote places. Deer numbers - really couldn't give a rat's ass about - they're totally safe and harmless to human life and we can co-exist with them fine and shoot the odd one or two for fun or for dinner.
Cars are good. Bears and wolves aren't. Sadly the woke left are coming for the former not the latterI’m not going to look it up but I bet you more people are killed by bees than wolves . What about cars?
One of my greatest achievements. Fox nil my hammer oneIt took pride in battering a fox to death because it came near its tent.
All this proves is that we still have work to do and our work isn't done.Why not? We've already exterminated most of the other land mammals we don't farm to eat.
One recent estimate of land mammal biomass puts humans at 36%, livestock at 60%, and everything else at 4%. Troll biomass was not reported.
Matter of opinion, mine that they are bad.Cars are good.
Bears are good.Bears and wolves aren't.
... and much else besides .I'm unqualified to answer that...
Your sanctimony is worrying. I can hear the shrill indignation from here. Live a little, enjoy some fois gras, some veal and a spot of shooting.The apparent pride in your indifference to cruelty is worrying.
It's very sad if you think that's what it takes to live a little Steve....Live a little, enjoy some fois gras, some veal and a spot of shooting.
You're a very miserable man. How can you not like cars. The feeling of a nicely executed gear shift, the roar of a V8 or the wail of a V10 is a joy. Never mind a nicely judged line clipping the apex through a bend is a joyful experience. A one on one with a bear is likely to end in a grizzly death (no pun intented). Hence cars are good and bears are bad.Matter of opinion, mine that they are bad.
Bears are good.
... and much else besides .
I do all that and more as it happens .Your sanctimony is worrying. I can hear the shrill indignation from here. Live a little, enjoy some fois gras, some veal and a spot of shooting.
You're right. That's not living a little, that's living a lotIt's very sad if you think that's what it takes to live a little Steve....
So why object to someone stating that shooting wild wolves or bears is good?I do all that and more as it happens .
What about the wail of the sirens as you head on your way to a ban?The feeling of a nicely executed gear shift, the roar of a V8 or the wail of a V10 is a joy. Never mind a nicely judged line clipping the apex through a bend is a joyful experience.
For what. Having a view on something. That would be a bit 1984 surely...What about the wail of the sirens as you head on your way to a ban? [emoji38]
I was relating to your joyful motoring experiences....For what. Having a view on something. That would be a bit 1984 surely...
They say twenty is plenty. Well I say a ton is fun....I was relating to your joyful motoring experiences....
I‘m not against shooting as such. Well if you read what I wrote, I said shooting the escaped wolves would be justified on conservation (of European Wolf) grounds. It all depends.So why object to someone stating that shooting wild wolves or bears is good?
165 is fun....on 2 wheels.They say twenty is plenty. Well I say a ton is fun....
I think shooting or mass culls are always justified to preseve livestock and human life, even in remote places.I‘m not against shooting as such. Well if you read what I wrote, I said shooting the escaped wolves would be justified on conservation (of European Wolf) grounds. It all depends.
It's also fun on 4165 is fun....on 2 wheels.
All this proves is that we still have work to do and our work isn't done.
The Internet. Its amazing what's out there in local news outlets. Start with searching bear attack pyrenees and you'll find several cases of live stock been killed, farmers are up in arms about it and a hiker attacked in Lescun. My view - total extermination is the only way.
I think you're enjoying this attention a bit too much. Maybe a little bored too?Your sanctimony is worrying. I can hear the shrill indignation from here. Live a little, enjoy some fois gras, some veal and a spot of shooting.
That isn't what happened at all at Val D'Aran. It was a close call and the fact a bear is on a well worn hiking trail indicates they will come near people. You're right though - it wasn't lescun"The internet, it's amazing what's out there." Indeed. And yeah, I think we all get what your view is by now.
I googled 'bear attack Lescun" and "ours Lescun," and got nothing about attacks aside from a Times article about an encounter in Val d'Aran (a long way away from Lescun). I was in the Pyrenees when the Val' d'Aran incident happened and heard about it. Broadly what I heard was that the guy (with his son iirc) came face to face with a bear on a trail and had to climb down into a gorge to avoid it. The bear (some versions had the bear with a cub) just wandered by. Usually what happens is someone sees a bear from a distance and by the time the story has reached the papers the bear has rabies and a machine gun. If you can provide information of a hiker being attacked near Lescun (there are two males there, joined by (I think) 2 females as of last year) I'd be genuinely very interested. Please note that seeing a bear or even being charged by one is not an attack, like someone calling you a repetitive troll and internet tough guy isn't an assault.
You are not entirely wrong about livestock predation but your reporting reeks of having heard it from a taxi driver or someone in the pub, or more likely moulded up to suit your own preoccupations.
FYI, bears were not 'introduced' to the Pyrenees, rather the tiny remnant population of native bears (
Re attitudes to bears in general, a couple of years ago I did a xc ski trip in northern Finland/Karelia in an area known for its population of big brown bears (400kg+). Of course they were all hibernating when I was there. I asked a park ranger about the feasibility of coming back in the summer to photograph them. She said, "You almost certainly won't see one, they're extremely timid." A refreshing change from the gun/spray carrying attitudes of North Americans and the terrified paranoia of brits who have grown up in a sterile environment where badgers are alpha predators. I did meet an English couple last year in Cauterets who were carrying pepper spray in case of meeting a bear, but they are the only people I have ever met who had given it a second thought, and it wasn't putting them off.
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In general reply to everyone, the biggest issue with the escaped park wolves is likely that they will have little to no fear or suspicion of humans. They will not have the hunting expertise their wild cousins have so livestock will be a lot more attractive to them, and the presence of the berger will not trouble them. The Alps (and all of continental Europe) already have a well established wolf population which has appeared and increased rapidly over the past couple of decades. Walk through any alpine pastures and you will see signs warning of Patou, the huge white Pyrenean dogs which guard the sheep. 20 years ago you never saw them in the Alps, they are everywhere now. A good friend is involved in wolf conservation in the Alps and is of the view that while hunting them should be kept illegal, farmers ought to be permitted to shoot them on pasture, partly to protect the livestock but also to teach the very clever wolves that humans are dangerous. Wolf attacks on humans are so rare that they are barely worth consideration. I've seen a wolf close up in Switzerland and from c.70m in the Pyrenees, and I still have my arms and legs. The one in the Pyrenees watched me for a good 15 minutes as I walked by, the worst bit is that I only had a 24mm lens
There have been studies carried out regarding the feasibility of wolf reintroduction in Scotland, one on Rum and others on the mainland. The result of the Rum study was that the island was not big enough to sustain a healthy population and I believe that the biggest issue with the mainland is the absence of extensive native forest and mixed woodland.
Better than a hammer I suppose....although I would love to see you trying to attack a bear with a hammer....I'll be carrying pepper spray when I'm back
Better than a hammer I suppose....although I would love to see you trying to attack a bear with a hammer....
All good. Regarding reintroduction of wolves to Scotland. I forget the name of the well-known estate but the man (MFI heir?) advocating it wanted to fence a very large area for ‘re-wilding’ and wolf introduction but fell foul of ramblers & Scotland’s ‘right to roam‘ equivalent (more than equivalent, but again I don’t know it’s name)."The internet, it's amazing what's out there." Indeed. And yeah, I think we all get what your view is by now.
I googled 'bear attack Lescun" and "ours Lescun," and got nothing about attacks aside from a Times article about an encounter in Val d'Aran (a long way away from Lescun). I was in the Pyrenees when the Val' d'Aran incident happened and heard about it. Broadly what I heard was that the guy (with his son iirc) came face to face with a bear on a trail and had to climb down into a gorge to avoid it. The bear (some versions had the bear with a cub) just wandered by. Usually what happens is someone sees a bear from a distance and by the time the story has reached the papers the bear has rabies and a machine gun. If you can provide information of a hiker being attacked near Lescun (there are two males there, joined by (I think) 2 females as of last year) I'd be genuinely very interested. Please note that seeing a bear or even being charged by one is not an attack, like someone calling you a repetitive troll and internet tough guy isn't an assault.
You are not entirely wrong about livestock predation but your reporting reeks of having heard it from a taxi driver or someone in the pub, or more likely moulded up to suit your own preoccupations.
FYI, bears were not 'introduced' to the Pyrenees, rather the tiny remnant population of native bears (<10 c.20 years ago) was augmented by more bears from Slovenia being released in various batches. There are now c.50-70 bears in the Pyrenees, enough now that occasionally, though very rarely, people see one. They almost always run like hell. It is however true that they occasionally prey on livestock. I've never heard of a bear chasing sheep off cliffs though, a bear can catch a sheep with ease in a very short distance. There was one bear in Ariege which almost certainly chased a horse off a cliff, and another called Franska who killed and ate quite a few sheep, cattle and horses during 2006 in the Ossau area. But this level of predation is aberrant and Franska was subsequently shot, legally. Many locals and most farmers are indeed very anti-bear, graffiti on the roads attest to this but then anyone can go out with a spray can and after a busy night of painting give the impression that whatever they write is a widely held or majority view. The French farmers of course do have a point, they would rather live off the animals they raise than from the government compensation they get every time a cow gets eaten, but this is a separate issue from bears being dangerous to humans. There are also many people in the Pyrenees who like having bears there, mainly as they are emblematic of the place, are a native animal and a wilderness sterilised by removing everything that is inconvenient is of no value.
Re attitudes to bears in general, a couple of years ago I did a xc ski trip in northern Finland/Karelia in an area known for its population of big brown bears (400kg+). Of course they were all hibernating when I was there. I asked a park ranger about the feasibility of coming back in the summer to photograph them. She said, "You almost certainly won't see one, they're extremely timid." A refreshing change from the gun/spray carrying attitudes of North Americans and the terrified paranoia of brits who have grown up in a sterile environment where badgers are alpha predators. I did meet an English couple last year in Cauterets who were carrying pepper spray in case of meeting a bear, but they are the only people I have ever met who had given it a second thought, and it wasn't putting them off.
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In general reply to everyone, the biggest issue with the escaped park wolves is likely that they will have little to no fear or suspicion of humans. They will not have the hunting expertise their wild cousins have so livestock will be a lot more attractive to them, and the presence of the berger will not trouble them. The Alps (and all of continental Europe) already have a well established wolf population which has appeared and increased rapidly over the past couple of decades. Walk through any alpine pastures and you will see signs warning of Patou, the huge white Pyrenean dogs which guard the sheep. 20 years ago you never saw them in the Alps, they are everywhere now. A good friend is involved in wolf conservation in the Alps and is of the view that while hunting them should be kept illegal, farmers ought to be permitted to shoot them on pasture, partly to protect the livestock but also to teach the very clever wolves that humans are dangerous. Wolf attacks on humans are so rare that they are barely worth consideration. I've seen a wolf close up in Switzerland and from c.70m in the Pyrenees, and I still have my arms and legs. The one in the Pyrenees watched me for a good 15 minutes as I walked by, the worst bit is that I only had a 24mm lens
There have been studies carried out regarding the feasibility of wolf reintroduction in Scotland, one on Rum and others on the mainland. The result of the Rum study was that the island was not big enough to sustain a healthy population and I believe that the biggest issue with the mainland is the absence of extensive native forest and mixed woodland.
Thankfully that never went ahead. There's no way they could adequately guarantee that the wolves wouldn't a) escape the enclosure b) someone wouldn't encounter the thing.All good. Regarding reintroduction of wolves to Scotland. I forget the name of the well-known estate but the man (MFI heir?) advocating it wanted to fence a very large area for ‘re-wilding’ and wolf introduction but fell foul of ramblers & Scotland’s ‘right to roam‘ equivalent (more than equivalent, but again I don’t know it’s name).
You obviously haven’t watched any of those wildlife programs about Bears in Alaska & Kamchatka (which make European Brown Bears look like pussies. If people are going through dense brush in ‘Bear Country’ they make a lot of noise and sing out to tell any bear they are coming rather than carry a fairly useless spray — if a bear was really attacking you she’d get you you before you’d deployed your poxy little spray. And there’s plenty of film of bears & biologists & wildlife photographers in close proximity with no harm coming to either -- not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s rare,A mayor of the Pyrenees prohibits hiking for fear of bear attacks
Invoking a threat to men, the mayor of Ustou has prohibited hiking in the sectors, bordering Spain, which overlook the Cirque de Cagateille, very popular with walkers this season. © BENOIT BACOU / …www.web24.news
Definitely getting a bear spray and big hunting knife. A gun would be my preference but it'll have to do.
He’s probably a truffle hunter protecting his truffles or other fungi .A mayor of the Pyrenees prohibits hiking for fear of bear attacks
Invoking a threat to men, the mayor of Ustou has prohibited hiking in the sectors, bordering Spain, which overlook the Cirque de Cagateille, very popular with walkers this season. © BENOIT BACOU / …www.web24.news
Definitely getting a bear spray and big hunting knife. A gun would be my preference but it'll have to do.
Gaurdianista animal lover wokists
Rare means it happens.You obviously haven’t watched any of those wildlife programs about Bears in Alaska & Kamchatka (which make European Brown Bears look like pussies. If people are going through dense brush in ‘Bear Country’ they make a lot of noise and sing out to tell any bear they are coming rather than carry a fairly useless spray — if a bear was really attacking you she’d get you you before you’d deployed your poxy little spray. And there’s plenty of film of bears & biologists & wildlife photographers in close proximity with no harm coming to either -- not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s rare,
All good. Regarding reintroduction of wolves to Scotland. I forget the name of the well-known estate but the man (MFI heir?) advocating it wanted to fence a very large area for ‘re-wilding’ and wolf introduction but fell foul of ramblers & Scotland’s ‘right to roam‘ equivalent (more than equivalent, but again I don’t know it’s name).
Were you actually there. Was it actually you? Ill go with the several news sources rather than an animal lover on the Web.It must be true because it's in a paper. Were you actually there? I've no doubt that some sort of scary interaction went on, it's no secret that bears have killed people, and it is almost certainly a matter of time before it happens again.
I can assure you that not everyone who lives there is anti bear, though the mort aux ours brigade do make a lot more noise and do a lot more road painting. My impression is that there is a large majority who are unconcerned about bears, but with sympathy for the farmers. The only local Pyrenean I've met (out of hundreds) who expressed any fear of bears was coincidentally a paranoid moron who drank too much floc and suspected this neighbours of stealing his dope plants. As far as hikers/mountaineers (me) go if they can't deal with the presence of bears then they should go elsewhere. If I thought I was ever going to see a bear there, and I actively look for them, I'd buy lottery tickets as well. But then I only spend a couple of months there every year (for the past two decades) so what the hell do I know.
I hope you don't end up shooting one, I wouldn't fancy your chances in court with this thread as character evidence.
I was going to suggest the Alps instead if you're afraid of bears, but they are literally moving with old ladies with big noses.