Important information at a glance
For hundreds of years, the Ruhpolding Bear was thought to be the last brown bear to live in Bavaria. Because he just went too far in his mischief-making, he had to pay for it with his life. He has found his final hunting ground in the local history museum. There he can be admired from up close without the slightest danger.
The way he poses in his own temperature-controlled, glazed bear room, in a soft-footed posture, his head stretched forward in a friendly way, with his dark button eyes, he looks decidedly harm- less. Almost as meek as a lamb. But during his life, he was a source of terror for the inhabitants of the Miesenbacher Tal. Back in the year 1835, he used to roam the forests of the Schwarzachen area, at the foot of the Sonntagshorn. Their grazing animals were just what he was looking for. He took what and however much he could get hold of. A glutton on four furry feet, who also had ants, berries and grasses on his menu. And honey! Every bear will gladly go miles for honey. In all likelihood, the Ruhpolding Bear immigrated from Austria.
Out of fear, including for people’s own lives, he was finally hunted down. The first attempt was a miserable failure, however. So, in the same year, a large contingent of foresters, forestry assistants and hunt helpers set out. But the shaggy fellow did not make it easy for them this time either. A rifle bullet is even supposed to have ricocheted off his forehead. Ferdinand Klein finally managed to bring down the 280 pound brown bear, above the “Bäckenlaubstadl” on the Schwarzachenbach. A plaque can still be seen there as a reminder of this historic success, which paid off handsomely for the crack-shot marksman: in a letter from the royal saline forestry office, Ferdinand Klein was granted a reward of 75 guilders. This was equivalent to around a third of his annual salary.
Predators such as the bear, the wolf and the lynx were hunted everywhere in Central Europe and were almost wiped out by the end of the 19th century. The Ruhpolding Bear, shot in 1835, is assumed to have been the last brown bear to live in Germany and in the wild.
Until 2006, when a specimen came over from Austria to Bavaria and was known as “Problem Bear Bruno”. Normally, the big predators stay out of people’s way. For that to continue, it is essential that they retain their shyness of people. Once a bear has lost its respect of people and helped itself in the henhouse or rubbish bins, it is difficult to re-educate it again. This was also the problem with Bruno, who met a similar end to the Ruhpolding Bear. Bruno can be seen at the Museum of Man and Nature in Munich, where he has replaced the brown bear from Ruhpolding. The latter has returned home, however, more than 200 years after Ferdinand Klein’s deadly shot. This time, however, much to the delight of the local people. He rests peacefully behind glass in the “Bartholomäus-Schmucker Heimatmuseum”, formerly the ducal hunting chateau of the House of Wittelsbach. Stuffed and prepared – and somehow very satisfied.
