Last May, a young bear died in a collision with a train in Salzburg’s Pongau. At the Stegenwald hunting center in Werden-Tenneck, the dead animal now finds a new role as a training bear for future hunters.
Head tilted, eyes closed. The large, heavy body lies slumped, yes, peacefully, on the stones. But appearances are deceiving. A thin trail of blood is evidence of the fatal wound that killed the brown bear in late May. But although the cub was fatally injured on that fateful day, it is now coming back to life. And returns to Pongau as a living specimen: to the office of the Salzburg hunting association.
“Many of us have never seen a bear in the wild. It is therefore understandable that we use this bear, which had an unfortunate collision with the train, as a permanent exhibition for training purposes in the hunting community in Salzburg,” says State Hunt Master Max Mayr-Melnhof. After five months of intensive preparatory work by the Salzburg Niedermair company, the time had come on Wednesday and the bear found a different kind of final resting place at the state hunting center in Stegenwald near the Lueg Pass.
The preparation is used by hunters for training purposes
The bear looks majestically at Schwarzach, with his head held high, eyes alert and his mouth open. To the place where his young life was taken from him. But despite its tragic end, the animal can now look forward to a new task: as a training bear it will now serve future hunters for training and educational purposes. In return, he not only got his severed back leg back as part of his recovery. His skull bone also had to be replaced. “This preparation is craftsmanship at the highest level,” says Mayr-Melnhof, who would also like to exhibit the dead animal at the annual hunter’s fair.
Was the collision really the cause of death?
As a reminder: the 100 kilo animal died on May 23, 2023 after an accident with a train on the track between Lend and Schwarzach. The driver had tried to brake, but a collision with the brown bear was inevitable. The carcass was removed from the rails using a crane and then taken to Vienna for an autopsy.
Although experts attributed the cause of death to the collision as being due to serious internal injuries, the ÖBB said the animal had already been lying on the tracks before the collision. The ‘Krone’ also spoke with several train drivers who confirmed that a collision with a train would have had more serious consequences for the animal. But what does that mean for the cause of death? Had the bear crawled onto the rails while injured? Or had someone even put it there?
The animal had killed two sheep before the accident
However, speculation about the cause of death and possible poaching could not be confirmed. On the contrary: X-rays showed multiple and serious bone fractures and no gunshot wounds that would indicate poaching. According to state veterinary director Josef Schöchl, the animal also suffered massive internal bleeding in the chest and abdominal area as a result of a collision.
Although the young bear’s life ended tragically, he could look back on a long journey through the forests of Italy, Tyrol and Bavaria. It is proven that he had killed two sheep there eight days before his death. As a last meal, so to speak.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
