Since the deadly bear attack on a jogger in Italy and the sheep torn in Bavaria, politicians have been alarmed: does the predator have to be shot? A visit to animal keeper Christoph Denk, who has been working and living with brown bears for nine years.
No, says Christoph Denk, despite all the friendship he has never hugged a bear. He wouldn’t advise it to anyone either, after all, such a blow with a bear’s paw could easily cost an ear or worse. No matter how funny a bear may appear, “they are still predators that can switch to attack at lightning speed,” says Denk. “You always have to be aware of that.”