If you go down to the woods today . . .

[Jeff Crawley]

A bear was shepherded out of Ponferrada this morning - that should be enough to put off those early rising pilgrims!

"Bear with me!"

 

[JennyH94]

Yikes, Jeff! Was it this bear?



Sorry, I couldn’t resist having some fun with the news!

Cheers from Oz -
Jenny

 

[JesperK]

Just read about it in local news. Imagine getting up in the morning and seeing a brown bear walking through the city centre.

A bear was shepherded out of Ponferrada this morning - that should be enough to put off those early rising pilgrims!

"Bear with me!"

 

[Bradypus]

On the ST Olavsleden in Sweden I came across bear tracks on a forest path one morning. I later read that the forest had the most dense concentration of brown bears in Europe. I wasn't totally surprised to see the tracks there. Bumping into a bear in the street in Ponferrada would be a different matter and I'd start to wonder about last night's orujo! Since I read the story I've been wondering about tactics if you do meet one. Especially marmalade sandwiches. Should you carry one just in case to use as a bribe and a decoy? Or would the smell attract the bears in the first place?

 

[trecile]

Just read about it in local news. Imagine getting up in the morning and seeing a brown bear walking through the city centre.

Bears have been showing up in town where I live recently too!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

More on animal resurgence HERE if you are interested.

When I worked in North West Ontario in the 70s we'd see a lot of bear tracks but seldom the animals themselves.

On one project we were surveying a route for a pipeline that had to cross a river channel, go over a small island, back through the channel and then up a bluff.

We were surveying on the north side of the island one morning and, when we broke for lunch, decided to dump our equipment and survey stakes in the scrub on the south side while we took our boat down the lake for lunch (we weren't far from town).

On our return, pressed into the river mud, were the tracks of a bear and her cub. We measured the the hind prints at 14 inches and 2 inch claws.

Never saw the bear but ended the day with sore necks from constantly looking over our shoulders!

 

[David61]

A bear? Nothing I tell you! Many years ago a circus came to my home town and the council gave them permission to set up in the town centre rather than the usual outskirts. One evening (town centre remember) the animal rights activists decided to further their cause by releasing four lions! Much terror and running about and one man was mauled but saved by a policeman ramming the lion with his car. A clown from the circus ran out with a chair and whip to control the lions. All were captured and no serious injuries.

The night four lions escaped from the circus in Grimsby

More than 30 years have passed since four lions escaped from Chipperfield's Circus in Grimsby

www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

 

[Jeff Crawley]

A bear? Nothing I tell you! Many years ago a circus came to my home town and the council gave them permission to set up in the town centre rather than the usual outskirts. One evening (town centre remember) the animal rights activists decided to further their cause by releasing four lions! Much terror and running about and one man was mauled but saved by a policeman ramming the lion with his car. A clown from the circus ran out with a chair and whip to control the lions. All were captured and no serious injuries.

The night four lions escaped from the circus in Grimsby

More than 30 years have passed since four lions escaped from Chipperfield's Circus in Grimsby

www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk

Good grief! I'm not sure which would scare me the most: the lions or the clown!

 

[henrythedog]

I’ll see your lions and raise you an elephant! Sadly a circus elephant who lost its footing outside my nearest decent Indian takeaway. The fountain in which it slipped (but came to no harm) was covered over in case any future pachyderms should come to grief. There have been no subsequent reports of elephantine injuries.

Old Cumbria Gazetteer - Fountain, Milnthorpe

 

[lovingkindness]

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have a bear phobia and it always has me concerned when I've visited the Rocky mountains in the western US and Canada. In spite of the beautiful scenery, my fear is always lurking within me, robbing some of my joy even in the short hikes.
I always thought the Camino routes were "bear proof", as in no bears...yikes!

 

[Kanga]

During the Covid lockdowns there were quite a few reports of wild animals coming into towns and cities. And even before, I remember this video of a family of wild boars tangling with traffic in Rome.

And this is a fascinating documentary about wolves in northern Spain, including Galicia. Not sure when it was made, but probably in the 1980s.

 

[lovingkindness]

Bears....us?