2024-05-06 06:15:00
Once you’ve heard these screams, you can’t get them out of your head. When animal rights activist Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Ami Huguenard set up camp in the middle of a bear area in Alaska in October 2003, contrary to all safety rules, and were killed by a bear there, their camera was still on but not filming. Only the sound was recorded. Werner Herzog, who portrayed Treadwell in his film “Grizzly Man” and listened to the tape, did not want to subject his audience to this horror.
Andrea Papi, on the other hand, who was killed by a bear while jogging not far from his parents’ home in Trentino, northern Italy, in the spring of 2023, had no idea that he had invaded the territory of an extremely aggressive animal. A death with an announcement, daddy’s parents complain in Andreas Pichler’s documentary “Dangerously close – when bears kill” (Sky and Wow, from June 4th in the ARD media library). “JJ4” had attacked people before. Animal rights activists ensured that she was not shot. Since then, popular anger has been simmering; many consider the situation in Trentino to be out of control.
Wolf cracks are increasing
It was well-intentioned: by reintroducing bears into the Alps at the turn of the millennium and also by protecting the wolves that returned to Germany of their own accord, the EU wants to develop more resilient ecosystems. But the bears have multiplied faster than expected and wolf attacks are increasing. Many grazing livestock farmers give up. A problem especially for nature conservation, because the extensively cultivated areas are very rich in species. Nobody can wish for her disappearance.
also read
This is also shown by Ralf Bücheler’s documentary film “Land of the Wolves”, which has just been shown in cinemas. The film doesn’t accuse, doesn’t offer a recipe, doesn’t comment. Instead, he lets researchers like Ilka Reinhardt explain the wolf’s hunting technique and watches the autopsy of those found dead. He uses permanently installed cameras to film animals digging at night, where a toddler plays during the day, and shows a young wolf splashing around in the pool.
None of the usual musical accompaniment dramatizes the images; instead, Cico Beck’s percussive composition sets accents: the sparse leitmotif fuses wolf howls and synthetic sounds in such a way that the wolf, who crosses the border between culture and nature, also takes shape on an acoustic level. You get close to the wolf, but he stays at a distance. This is what respect could look like.
also read
But are large predators in densely populated areas even a good idea? Haven’t we been lacking experience in dealing with them for a few centuries? Animal documentaries also play a role in allowing false images to get stuck in our heads. Scenes are often shot in enclosures that simulate naturalness in order to serve our concept of “wilderness”. Main message: A single man dares to venture into bear territory and makes friends with the actually quite nice animals! However: In “untouched wilderness” humans are “always a disruptive factor,” says zoologist David Bittner, apparently self-critically, in “The Bear in Me” by Roman Droux (2020). And yet he gives the impressive animals pet names.
But what if bear and wolf claim the same right to distance? “Dangerously close”, “Land of the Wolves”, but also Boaz Black’ Documentary “Bear Alert in Transylvania” (ARD media library) stand out from many other films because they show the animals in the wild. And the wild here simply means: human territory. Schwarz, for example, portrays a mother bear who leaves the forest with her three cubs to raid garbage cans in the city and slurp coffee cups in front yards. This lack of distance is fatal for all fours.
also read
Bears also have it easy in Trentino: despite an official recommendation, it took more than 20 years until bear-proof garbage cans were installed. A member of the forest guard says that from the beginning it was politically undesirable to provide residents and tourists with comprehensive information. Some even suspect that a climate of fear that arises from half-knowledge makes later extermination decisions all the more promising. Meanwhile, further generations of spoiled bears were able to grow up. And people who are afraid. Neither leads to anything good.
Wolves and bears pass on what they have learned to their offspring like a culture. There are very different clans. You don’t have to anthropomorphize these animals to recognize that they have a distinct individuality. Anyone who kills a leading wolf not only ensures that the following male will produce even more offspring. The new one can also change the behavior in the pack.
Trust versus vigilantism
The conflict with wild animals, as the producer and co-author of “Dangerously Close”, Georg Tschurtschenthaler, is right, touches on many other societal issues: city versus country, people versus nature, meat consumption versus veganism. At the end of such a development, the contrast also means: trust in politics versus vigilantism. At some point, an illegally killed bear dangles from a crane, gawked at by onlookers.
Here you will find content from third parties
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.
Coexistence is possible, insist the more level-headed among the shepherds and hunters surveyed. They grant space to an animal that our ancestors lived with, feared and revered for thousands of years, from which humans must withdraw to a certain extent. But if you think you’re the master of the forest, have to ride your e-bike to every last corner and quickly post a selfie with bears fed by the hotelier, you don’t like to be told that.
Good fences make good neighbors, to paraphrase the farmer-poet Robert Frost. Shot a cheeky young wolf once with a rubber bullet and he will avoid the place in the future. Especially when livestock guard dogs and appropriately paid shepherds have already started working there. This is complex. Do we want to learn it? Re-education programs, says Dangerously Close, are only effective on young bears. But for certain animals “with established behavioral patterns” this no longer helps. They are just a bit like us.
Here you will find content from third parties
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.
#Return #predators #night #wolf #digs #playground