Lithuanian hunters refuse to kill bear that ambled around capital for two days
A young female bear caused a stir after wandering out of the forest and into the leafy suburbs of the Lithuanian capital.
For two days, the brown bear ambled through the neighbourhoods of Vilnius, trotted across highways and explored backyards – all while being chased by onlookers with smartphones and, eventually, drones.
The government then issued a permit for the bear to be shot and killed.
That did not go down well with Lithuania's hunters who, aware that there were only a tiny number of the protected species in the entire country, refused.
The Lithuanian association of hunters and fishermen said it was shocked by the government's approach.
The association's administrator, Ramutė Juknytė, said the bear was a beautiful young female who was about two years old and did not deserve to be shot. 'She was scared but not aggressive. She just didn't know how to escape the city but she didn't do anything bad,' he said.
The organisation tracks the movements of bears. It believes there are only five to 10 bears in the Baltic nation, but does not have a precise number.
The drama began on Saturday when the bear entered the capital. It was the first time in many years that a bear had entered the city and it became a national story. The animal came within about 4 to 5km (about 2-3 miles) of the city centre.
Since causing a stir with their permit to kill the bear, Lithuanian authorities have been on the defensive.
Deputy environment minister Ramūnas Krugelis said that the kill permit had been issued purely as a precaution in case the bear posed a threat, according to a report by the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT.
The hunters proposed a more humane approach: sedation, tracking and relocation.
As the debate over the bear's fate unfolded, she took matters into her own paws and wandered out of the city.
Juknytė said the bear was recorded by camera on Wednesday, peacefully wandering through a forest about 60km (40 miles) from Vilnius while munching on corn.
Brown bears are native to the region and were once common. They were wiped out in Lithuania in the 19th century due to hunting and habitat loss.
In recent years they have started reappearing in small numbers, typically wandering in from neighbouring countries such as Latvia and Belarus , where small bear populations still exist. Bears are protected under Lithuanian and EU law as they are considered a rare and vulnerable species in the region.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
What's the point of the UK talking to Tehran? More than you might think…
Europe's frantic diplomatic mission in Geneva may go down as one of its most arduous ventures on the world stage – and also one of its most consequential. The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany must persuade a battered Iranian regime to kow-tow to the US and Israel over its nuclear ambitions, or face likely annihilation. All three European powers would, of course, love to see the back of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei's corrupt and brutal theocracy. But they rightly fear the regime's capacity to unleash death and destruction before it goes. If Trump joins Israel in the war on Iran with US bunker-busting bombs on nuclear sites, and it succeeds in killing Khamenei, there will still be plenty of Iranian hardliners left who will be willing to fight to the death. Previous inhibitions will not apply. That could mean use of a dirty bomb in the West, or chaos unleashed in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 90 per cent of the Gulf's oil passes. For the world at large, the stakes are that high. British foreign secretary David Lammy – after meeting his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff in Washington on Thursday – said that the UK was 'determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon". He thinks a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution, as Trump dithers over whether to attack the regime, as US neo-cons and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are demanding – or whether to heed the no-more-wars mantra of his Maga base. And so, in search of a diplomatic solution, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is meeting with his European counterparts in Switzerland. But what can be achieved? For all their good intentions – French president Emmanuel Macron said the diplomats would make a "comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation" to Iran – the Europeans are unlikely to persuade the Iranians to pull back from the brink. At least not on their own. While one Iranian diplomat said Tehran was willing to pursue 'a balanced and pragmatic policy in its dealings with Europe, and engage rationally with both East and West', Araghchi said there will be 'no talks' with the US over Iran's nuclear programme while the Israeli bombardment continues: 'The Americans want negotiations and have sent messages several times, but we have clearly said that there is no room for dialogue.' But there is a useful point to holding talks on neutral ground with Tehran – and it's not simply to ask them nicely and face-to-face if they wouldn't mind stopping with their nuclear enrichment programme. Rather than relaying Trump and Netanyahu's demands to Iran, Geneva is about feeding back to the White House – translating Tehran's position for the US president. The Europeans aren't there to stop the war, they're Trump-whispering for the Ayatollah. It's not clear that European diplomats have the connections they need to have a greater role to play than this, useful though it will prove. But when it comes to a practical breakthrough, some of the Gulf states might, however. Behind the scenes, figures in what some dub 'Iran's deep state' – many of them members of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – are talking to representatives of Oman and Qatar; it might be these Middle Eastern countries that can make the difference, in a second stage of dialogue. Qatar, for its part, will likely hold more sway over Washington than London or Paris. All the peacemakers, though, will be battling the plans of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Nothing less that the obliteration of the regime in Tehran will satisfy him. Worryingly, Israel's premier appears to have been joined by an increasingly pro-war Fox News, with Sean Hannity this week declaring that Iran 'is the biggest existential threat to the entire western world'. The West should have learnt by now – after the disasters in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya – that enforced regime change in the Middle East is best avoided. Andreas Krieg, a leading Iran expert at King's College London thinks regime change in Iran would 'not be clean or peaceful'. If the current theocracy falls, there is no significant alternative political-social structure to lead this country of 92 million into the light. The IRGC, a ruthless military-industrial complex, would not easily cede control of the Iranian economy. Instead, with 190,000 personnel and a similar number of Basij paramilitaries to call on, it might well create a military dictatorship. The West and Israel would be back to square one. And the Iranian people would be no better off. Ironically, the last time the West brought about regime change in Iran – by booting out, in 1953, the democratically elected premier Mohammad Mosaddegh (for which we have British Petroleum and the CIA to thank) – it laid the groundwork for the emergence of the current Islamic Republic in the 1970s. In between rounds of golf, as he ponders his next steps in the Middle East, you can't help wishing Potus would be shown – by Lammy or anyone else – the relevant pages of a history book. It is within the president's power to unleash hell – or stop history repeating itself. After the Geneva talks, let's hope he listens to what the Trump-whisperers tell him.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Former Ajax and Holland star Quincy Promes extradited to Netherlands to serve seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence
FOOTBALLER Quincy Promes has been extradited back to Holland to serve a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The former Ajax player has been a wanted man for stabbing his cousin and for being involved in drugs smuggling. 1 THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Mass casualty incident at Berlin primary school with dozens of children injured after 'tear gas attack'
A primary school in Berlin has been evacuated after reports it suffered a 'tear gas attack'. Berlin police issued a brief statement on social media that confirmed an incident at the Miriam Makeba school, but gave no details of the cause. 'Shortly after 9am, our emergency services were alerted to the Miriam Makeba Elementary School... At least ten children are reportedly complaining of eye and respiratory irritation. They are currently being treated by emergency personnel. 'The building has been evacuated and ventilated.' Police added: 'Currently, there is no longer any danger. School operations are to be suspended. Investigations into the cause and possible perpetrators are ongoing.'
