"He is training Lisa, a shepherd in her 20s, but their way of life is the other endangered species, with few young people joining the industry. In the local bar, an expert on the TV explains that 85% of a brown bear's diet is vegetarian, and protein mostly comes from insects and other small creatures. Pah! say the shepherds, who have woken up to find their sheep half-eaten, sometimes still breathing."
"Whichever side of the argument you instinctively find yourself on team bear or team shepherd the film resists snap judgments. Keegan shot the footage over three years, and the locals clearly see him as part of the furniture and ignore the camera. We hear a slightly hectoring pro-bear commentator on TV say that we humans must to learn to live in harmony with the natural world."
Brown bears were hunted out of the Pyrenees but have returned, numbering around 70 thanks to EU-backed reintroduction. One reintroduction involved a helicopter lowering a crate from which a bear emerged to avoid blocked roads. Local farmers oppose the bears, barricading roads and painting 'no to bears' on tarmac, citing livestock killings. Shepherd Yves, 63, opposes reintroduction while training younger shepherd Lisa; few young people enter shepherding and that way of life is endangered. Experts note 85% of brown bear diet is vegetarian, yet shepherds report sheep found half-eaten. Encounters with cubs can inspire awe and leave no easy answers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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