Germany welcomes wild bear return

[MIKE BURN]

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5003354.stm



Monday, 22 May 2006, 01:02 GMT 02:02 UK



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.



Hunters' associations welcomed the bear's arrival as "positive" but said they were concerned it might damage farm property.



Regional officials in Bavaria say they plan to briefly anaesthetise the bear and identify it before releasing it.



World Wildlife Fund officials in Germany said the last reported wild bear in Germany was killed in 1835 in western Bavaria.

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MIKE
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