Bears may be back in Swiss Alps

[emad]

Brown bears may have returned to Switzerland, more than 100 years after disappearing from its mountains.

Eyewitnesses report seeing a bear high in the Alps near eastern Switzerland's border with Italy, where there is already an established bear population.

Officials say they are still looking for evidence such as bear droppings, hair or tracks to confirm the sighting.

While conservationists would welcome the bears' return, some Swiss shepherds fear for the safety of their flocks.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4720185.stm

[Heidi]

1. I think most of the people here are happy about it, though.

There are tons of extinct animals here. It's a tiny, tiny country, and so the encroachment of residential and commercial interests into these animals' habitat is especially serious.