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Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 09:27 GMT 10:27 UK

Finnish dogs in German bear hunt

Finnish bear tracker with dog in Austria While most of Germany is fascinated by the World Cup, a small corner of the country is watching a very different drama unfold - a bear hunt.

A brown bear has killed 20 sheep in the Bavarian Alps since crossing the border from Austria a few weeks ago.

The bear, known both as Bruno and JJ1, has defied German and Austrian hunters, and now a team of Finnish trackers with huskie dogs has joined in.

Bruno is the first brown bear to appear in Bavaria for some 100 years.

But even if they get Bruno, his brother JJ2 is at large in the Italian Alps, the BBC's Ray Furlong reports.

The fear is that if Bruno meets humans, he might attack them. The idea is to shoot Bruno with a narcotic.

Four specially trained Finnish dogs, which first had to be sheared because it was too hot for them, are sniffing for traces of Bruno. They have GPS positioning sensors on their collars.

Bruno's mother - who is blamed for his savage behaviour - has another three cubs.



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Related to this story:
Rare bear ends brief German stay (23 May 06 |  Europe )
Bavaria rethinks its bear welcome (22 May 06 |  Europe )
Hybrid bear shot dead in Canada (13 May 06 |  Science/Nature )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
World Wildlife Fund, Germany
Bears.org
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