4 October 2017

If You Go Down To The Woods Today




Last week Sarah took Rick for a walk accompanied by Paul and our friend Chris.  As they were wandering through the chestnut woods Sarah suddenly shrieked and cried out, “Bear!” She was absolutely certain she had seen a bear.

In the 1900’s some 150 brown bears roamed the Pyrenees.  Today there are only about 30 bears left and plans to reintroduce them are opposed by farmers who want to protect their livestock.  We are about 250 kms from the Pyrenees so I thought it was very unlikely that it was a bear roaming our woods.

Yesterday we took Rick for his afternoon walk.  As we followed the track through the woods Paul suddenly jumped out of his skin.  The bear!  He managed to get a photo with his ‘phone as it slunk off into the trees.




11 comments:

  1. Wow! I didn't realize France had any bears. That's a bit scary. You know the old saying "That which doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Except for bears, they'll just kill you"

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  2. That is frightening! I hope you keep Rick. Shouldn't you report it, after all you do have a photo to prove it? Stay safe.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Oops, it was meant to be: "I hope you keep Rick on a lease."
      X

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  3. And.... Paul told Sarah and I that it was a dog!!!!

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  4. What a sweet looking bear. She must be so lonely in the woods. Can't you and Paul adopt her? She would make a lovely playmate for Rick. His own teddy bear. I believe they like Sugar Puffs.

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  5. There are regular sightings in Norfolk and Suffolk of a large black panther roaming the countryside.

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  6. Several years ago, on the road from Lumberjack to St Caprais, I saw a creature jump up a bank into the woods. I was quite a distance from us, so I couldn't see exactly what it was. Now I know!

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    1. p.s. All those Bears that were reintroduced into the Pyrenees (at great expense), were shot by farmers within a couple of months.

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  7. Blimey! Whatever next! I have always known that dog walking was exciting as it's always a dog walker that finds The Body - real life as well as books and tv progs. Now we have to watch out for bears, please don't chase them up our way.

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  8. That's rather scary - I prefer my dog walking to be free from bears. Did the farmers all wear Davy Crocket hats in those days?
    You'll need to keep Rick safe.

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  9. That's really scary. I hope to never have a bear sighting! Please be careful.

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