Walk with a queasy feeling

Now we have survived this Easter too. Or were we even looking forward to it? On the cholesterol bombs in the shape of eggs and on lots of chocolate pressed into the shape of a rabbit. Of course, the stencils will soon be exchanged again to produce Santa Clauses. Or have we actually dealt with Easter, the resurrection and perhaps even life and the inevitable death? Maybe if there was still a little time left, because of course the walk was primarily intended as a sporting activity, because Christmas, when Christ is born, is always extremely cold, and sometimes you have to trudge through snow, although that has also been the case in recent years has become increasingly rare. And then you'd rather stay at home. I don't know how things are handled in South Tyrol now with the hikes in the forest and the lurking wolves and bears. Do you have to take a stick and pepper spray with you now? Can you walk anywhere, really anywhere, on really well-signposted paths without fear or anxiety? The death of a jogger in Trentino, not far from the South Tyrolean border, also made waves in Germany. After all, many tourists vacation in the heart of the Dolomites during the Easter holidays. “Sigi, if you go to South Tyrol, be careful,” a friend from Slovenia wrote to me. It's nice, people care about me, that makes me happy, of course. By the way, the fact that Slovenians of all people are concerned is remarkable, because the problem bear that killed Andrea Papi comes from Slovenia and was released into the wild in Trentino, as the saying goes. This was not particularly noticeable because Slovenia, with around 1000 bears, is one of the countries with the highest bear population density in the world. There have been no deaths for a long time. The last one dates back to 1966, when a forest worker accidentally broke into a bear cave. It is probably also because the south of the country consists of 91 percent forest. Natural. Lynxes, eagles and of course wolves live where there is hardly any civilization, no large towns or even hotels with wellness facilities. It's basically an exclusion zone for people, just as South Tyrol should simply be an exclusion zone for wild animals, because it can't be the case that bears and wolves are suddenly more important than people just because a few ever-romanticizing animal rights activists believe that Predators and humans can live together perfectly. The bear as a tourist attraction This is exactly what people avoid in Slovenia, without stigmatizing the bear as an evil creature that is constantly looking for human flesh. In view of the eight recorded bear attacks in Trentino, it is almost a joke that bears are viewed as a tourist attraction in Slovenia. On a day tour you can go in search of “Master Petz”, as he is so sweetly described in the offers. This is not a cheap tour (around 300 euros for two people), because it is only possible with a guide who takes his guests to permanent huts that are mounted on stilts and equipped with bulletproof glass-like windows (so the bear is dangerous?). When visiting the observation huts, where you stay for about three hours, guests should avoid taking strong-smelling food or wearing perfume. And no one is allowed to go alone into this forest biotope, which is basically like a jungle. It is a reserve large enough to accommodate flora and fauna without human influence. Surprisingly, bears are increasingly rare to see outside of this region. Basically, a clear separation has been created between humans and wild animals and in this case there is hardly any risk that situations will arise like those that have occurred several times in South Tyrol with wolf attacks or, as recently happened in Trentino, with an obviously obvious bear attack. Wild animals in a safe enclosure Another example. For example, only four bears live in the Bavarian Forest National Park, which together with the Bohemian Forest National Park in the Czech Republic covers an area of 68.000 hectares. And these are housed in an animal enclosure where you can observe them. 23 wolves were recently counted in Bavaria, and the majority of them also live on the German-Czech border. These nature parks, the creation of which was preceded by many discussions, have long since developed into virgin forests that are left to their own devices, as planned. This works well and has become a successful project, although in South Tyrol and Trentino the spatial conditions are lacking for a similar implementation. It is important to acknowledge reality. In any case, and especially this year due to the incidents in Trentino, the Easter walk got people's thoughts moving away from sport, which is then just a marginal phenomenon when exercise in the fresh air can be life-threatening. About the author: Sigi Heinrich The multi-award-winning sports journalist and TV commentator (including the German Television Prize, Bavarian Sports Prize, Biathlon Award and World Sports Trophy) devotes his columns to the entire diversity of sport and occasionally allows his thoughts to escape from this rigid corset. Sometimes with a smile and a wink, sometimes seriously or deliberately provocative. There should be something for everyone.

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Walk with a queasy feeling

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