oa Killer bears and bear killers in 19th-century Sweden

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The chapter discusses encounters between bears and the two 19th-century hunters Herman Falk and Llewellyn Lloyd. By taking both the hunter’s and the bear’s perspective into account, the 19th-century ambivalence towards hunting in general, and large carnivores in particular, is highlighted. Different forms of hunting have been categorised by anthropologist Garry Marvin, and this chapter utilises, as well as questions, these categories. From the bear’s perspective, hunting was probably experienced as traumatic and destructive. On the other hand, hunters also built relationships with individual animals, thus gaining knowledge about bears. A hunt sometimes went on for hours or days. The particular animal hunted may have been hunted before, and was known to the hunters. This allowed the hunters to gain a nuanced picture of the animals and to understand their lives. In this way, the perception of the bear grew from experiences that were shared by hunters and bears. Eventually, this alternative view of the bear entailed the relative protection of the animal in Sweden.