Ljubljana related

21 Jan 2020, 10:30 AM

Časoris is an online newspaper aimed at children. Each week we’ll take an article and post it here as a Slovene-English dual text.

Zakaj so medvedi po prespani zimi še vedno fit?

Why are bears still fit after a sleepy winter?

Written by Urša Adamič, translated by JL Flanner & G Translate

Predstavljajte si, da bi celo zimo prespali.

Imagine sleeping all winter long.

Mišice bi izgubile svojo moč, na koži bi se pojavile odrgnine in verjetno bi bili sestradani. No, grizliji s tem nimajo težav.

[Your] muscles would lose their strength, there would be bruises on the skin and you’d probably be starving. Well, grizzlies have no problem with all that.

Grizli je podvrsta rjavega medveda, ki živi v Severni Ameriki. V nedavno objavljeni raziskavi so znanstveniki razkrili, kaj grizlijem pomaga, da ohranijo mišice tudi po prespani zimi.

Grizzlies are a subspecies of brown bear living in North America. In a recent study, scientists revealed what helps grizzlies retain their muscles after a sleepy winter.

V času zimskega spanja oziroma hibernacije medvedi izgubijo skoraj tretjino telesne mase.

During the winter sleep, or hibernation, bears lose almost a third of their body weight.

Zaradi upočasnjenega dihanja in srčnega utripa se upočasnita tudi prebava in nastajanje urina. Med zimskim spanjem medvedi kar nekaj mesecev ne izločajo urina in blata, zato pa se v njihovem telesu kopiči dušik.

Due to slow breathing and heart rate, digestion and urine production are also slowed down. During the winter sleep, bears do not excrete urine and faeces for several months, which is why nitrogen builds up in their bodies.

Dušik je ključna sestavina aminokislin, iz katerih so zgrajeni proteini, iz njih pa so sestavljene mišice.

Nitrogen is a key component of the amino acids that proteins are made of, which muscle is made of.

Znanstveniki so ugotovili, da medvedi med zimskim spanjem dušika ne izločijo iz telesa z urinom, pač pa se ta vgradi nazaj v mišice in tako prepreči njihovo razgradnjo.

Scientists have found that bears do not excrete nitrogen from the body during the winter sleep with urine, but that it goes back into the muscles to prevent their breakdown.

Izguba mišične mase je problematična pri ljudeh, ki zaradi bolezni dolgo časa ležijo.

Muscle loss is problematic for people who are lying down for a long time due to illness.

Tudi pri astronavtih, ki mišic v breztežnostnem prostoru v vesolju ne morejo uporabljati, se te postopoma začnejo razgrajevati.

Also in astronauts who are unable to use their muscles in the weightlessness of space they gradually begin to break down.

S poznavanjem mehanizma ohranjanja mišične mase bi lahko olajšali tako življenje v vesolju kot tudi na Zemlji.

Knowing the mechanism of preserving muscle mass could make life easier in space as well as on Earth.

Slovar / Dictionary

Proteini (oziroma beljakovine) so sestavljeni iz aminokislin in imajo v telesu zelo različne vloge, med drugim so pomembni tudi pri izgradnji mišic.

Proteins (or proteins) are made up of amino acids and play very different roles in the body, including being important in muscle building.

Aminokisline so molekule iz dušika, vodika, kisika in ogljika, ki predstavljajo osnovno gradbeno enoto proteinov.

Amino acids are molecules of nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, which are the basic building blocks of proteins.

Dušik je kemijski element, ki se nahaja v ozračju in je pomemben gradnik v vseh živih bitjih. Iz telesa ga izločamo s sečnino oziroma urinom.

Nitrogen is a chemical element that is found in the atmosphere and is an important building block in all living things. It is excreted in the body with urea or urine.

Read more stories and improve your Slovene at Časoris, while all our dual texts can be found here.

23 Sep 2019, 15:49 PM

STA, 21 September 2019 - A total of 120 bears and a couple of wolves have been culled so far under the emergency law, the Slovenian Forest Service has told the STA. Hunting officials have also been granted a decree for emergency wolf culling in the Julian Alps.

Until the end of August, bears have caused damage in 210 cases, up from 96 in the same period last year. Related material damage is estimated at EUR 71,400, which is again an increase compared to last year's EUR 47,700.

Meanwhile, wolves were destructive in 240 cases (116 last year), with the damage being estimated at EUR 158,000 (EUR 71,600 in 2018).

On average, wolves slaughtered 3.6 heads of small cattle in a single attack, altogether slaughtering 756 of them so far this year. They have also attacked almost 40 heads of cattle, over 40 horses and four donkeys.

The emergency law, which came into effect at the end of June, gives hunting officials the right to cull 175 bears and 11 wolves. The culling of the latter stops if the numbers are reduced by five adult wolves.

Wolf culling comes with special requirements which the Environment Ministry relaxed in August having faced pressure by farmers and hunters. Thus the culling area was extended to cover the entire area of the pack's domain.

Culling can be carried out only in areas stipulated in the emergency law, whereas to cull in other places hunters need a special decree. But even that was made more flexible in August.

The emergency law will be in place until 30 April 2020 for bear culling and until 31 January 2020 for wolf culling, which will also take place during the whole of September 2020.

The Environment Ministry is preparing a new law, with its draft proposing culling of 175 bears and 7 wolves. The Forest Service said that the new law would not hinder the emergency law culling.

Learn about photographing brown bears in Slovenia here

16 Aug 2019, 16:10 PM

STA, 16 August 2019 - Amid escalating tensions over action in response to a growing number of wolf attacks on farm animals in Slovenia, 13,462 people have signed a petition urging against the planned culling of bears and wolves.

The petition, initiated by the animal rights group AniMa, was handed to Environment Minister Simon Zajc on Friday to "have the voice of reason heard when it comes to man's coexistence with bears and wolves".

The initiator of the petition, Andreja Galinec, reported with disappointment after the meeting that "we failed to prevent the culling".

"The answer we received was that the culling will not be halted," Nevenka Lukić Rojšek of AniMa said.

According to the ministry, Minster Zajc stressed at the meeting the the emergency act on culling was "addressing the burning issue of bear and wolf overpopulation and was needed at this moment to get the numbers back to a level that is also favourable for the local human population".

Zajc also announced he would inquire with his ministerial colleagues in the EU if there was a chance of one of the European countries accepting Slovenian bears and wolves.

He added the issue of overpopulation and management of bear and wolf populations needed to be removed from the realm of politics and returned to experts as soon as possible.

The group had proposed that the government immediately issue a moratorium on the emergency act regulating the culling and form a task force to analyse the state of affairs and find solutions that would not be dictated by political pressure.

Urging long-term measures to preserve wildlife and protect farm animals, the group says that Slovenia needs to preserve its population of wild animals as a key to preserve the balance of nature.

"Hunters have been interfering too much in this balance, and the price is now being paid by farmers, who a while ago demanded the culling of deer because of the damage to their crops," they say.

Arguing that there are also those among "the 22,000 armed people considered hunters" who use hunting as "a profitable business and cruel entertainment at the expense of animals", they believe that hunting for deer should be restricted and much better controlled, while subsidies for farm animal production in wolf and bear habitats should be made conditional on preventive measures.

"We urge the government not to be held hostage by a small interest group that demands violent solutions now, without considering long-term consequences. Slovenia is us too who disagree with the culling of bears and wolves, and there are many of us," the petitioners say.

The number of wolf attacks on farm animals has more than doubled this year over the same period in 2018, after an NGO successfully challenged in court the government's 2018 decree ordering the removal of 175 bears and 11 wolves from the wild.

Data from the Institute for Forests show that nearly 680 animals had been attacked by the end of July, but the number has increased since as new attacks are reported almost on a daily basis.

To tackle the situation, parliament passed a law in June ordering an emergency culling, but while hunters have killed 75 bears, the complex rules have prevented them from culling any wolves yet.

Following a protest by farmers on Saturday, changes have been agreed to facilitate the culling.

There are an estimated 1,000 bears and 80 wolves in the country. Most of the wolves live in 14 packs, while some live alone.

While there have been two attacks by bears on humans so far this year, Miha Krofel of the Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty has told the STA that there is no confirmed case of a wolf hurting a human in Slovenia on record.

All our stories on bears are here, those on wolves are here

14 Aug 2019, 16:00 PM

STA, 14 August 2019 - A she-bear with a cub attacked a hunter in the woods in the municipality of Ajdovščina, south-west, on Tuesday evening while he approached it unaware of its presence, the Nova Gorica Police Department said in a release on Wednesday.

The police explained the 67-year-old hunter had sat under a tree when he noticed a 150-kilogramme bear with a cub some 10 metres away.

The bear attacked him, biting his leg and scratching his head and body when the hunter started to yell to chase it away.

He sought medical assistance at the local emergency unit on his own, but the injuries were not as severe to require hospitalisation, so he is recovering at home.

The Forest Service, one of the main national organisations in charge of wild animal populations, was notified of the attack to take required measures.

However, analysing the attack it said it was a result of an unlucky coincidence when a hunter ran into a bear with a cub.

And since the incident occurred in the forest rather than near a town, the bear was assessed not to be aggressive so it will be monitored rather than culled.

This was a second bear attack on people this year, said the Forest Service, adding a long-term average is two to three attacks a year.

The first took place at the end of June, when an 80-year-old woman was attacked by a female bear with two cubs near her village some 15 kilometres south of Ljubljana.

Hunters were then ordered to kill the bear and both of its cubs, but could not do it because activists prevented the decree from being implemented.

Once the decree expired, the Forest Service decided not to extend it because there were no other encounters with the bear.

Just two days before this year's first bear attack, parliament passed an emergency bill to reduce the bear and wolf populations by 200 and eleven, respectively.

The law was needed to end the deadlock resulting from the Administrative Court banning bear culling upon an NGO's appeal against a government decree.

This resulted in the bear populations growing rapidly, to some 1,000, whereas the wolf population is estimated at around 80.

But the emergency law has been severely criticised by farmers and hunters, as wolf and bear attacks are continuing.

Hunters have culled 75 bears under the emergency law but not a single wolf since severe restrictions apply to wolf hunting, so they risk high fines.

The rules were somewhat loosened at yesterday's high-profile meeting hosted by the environment minister.

All our stories on bears are here, and those on hunting are here

06 Aug 2019, 12:02 PM

STA, 5 August 2019 - The Jurišče village near Pivka in south-western Slovenia saw a mass wolf attack on sheep on Sunday. The Slovenian Farmers' Trade Union has announced a protest to draw attention to the issue of such attacks becoming more frequent, saying Slovenia could not cope with the current number of wild animals.

Between 15 and 20 wolves slaughtered 12 sheep during the night and injured another 10 despite protective measures, including fencing and shepherd dogs.

A number of injured sheep will have to be put down, and one of shepherd dogs was also hurt during the attack.

Without the dogs, the attack could have been even more deadly, Florjan Peternelj of the Farmers' Trade Union told the STA on Monday.

He pointed out that Slovenia could not handle so many wild animals as there are currently in the country, highlighting the recent spike in wolf and bear attacks.

According to studies, Slovenia can cope with some 100 bears and two wolf packs at most, he said, adding that any extra animals could not survive because of a lack of food.

There are some 100 wolves in Slovenia, and the attacks have been on the rise because Administrative Court orders on culling had not been carried out due to appeals by NGOs.

An emergency bill authorising hunters to shoot 175 bears and 11 wolves was passed in parliament in June. Some bears have already been culled, but no wolves.

In the wake of these attacks becoming increasingly frequent, the trade union will organise a protest in Velike Lašče, south of Ljubljana, on Saturday.

It invites, according to Peternelj, all affected farmers and people who would like to fight for a safer countryside.

All our stories about wolves are here, and bears are here

01 Jul 2019, 12:50 PM

July 1, 2019

The hunt for the bear who attacked an 80-year-old woman in Želimlje last week was called off at the end of Sunday, when the deadline for hunters to track and kill the mother bear and her two cubs expired.

On Saturday the bear broke into a beehive not far from where the woman was attacked, but this did not meet the criteria for the hunt to be extended.

For now the three bears will continue to live unbothered by hunters unless the mother attacks another person.

23 Jun 2019, 14:45 PM

It has been declared that the mother bear with two cubs who on Saturday morning attacked an 80-year-old woman outside her home in Vrh nad Želimljami, a village about 15 kilometres south of Ljubljana,  will be shot. The culling decree stays valid till next Sunday, while people from the Škofljica area have been asked to stay inside, especially in the early morning and evening hours.

This wasn't the bear's first attack on a human in the area. Last Sunday the bear charged at a jogger who managed to run away after startling her by firing a blank from a gun.

 

Video of the bear running across the neighbour's playground on the morning before the attack. The video was filmed by the woman’s neighbour, the former environmental minister, Jure Leben

The attack occurred amid the farmers’ protests due to large predator attacks on their sheep, prompting the National Assembly’s confirmation of an intervention law aimed at the growing populations of brown bear and wolf in the country. According to the law, 200 bears and 11 wolves are to be culled this year. Such interventions have been so far declared by a decree but have not been carried out due to a judicial delay.

23 Jun 2019, 08:02 AM

STA, 22 June 2019 - An 80-year-old woman suffered moderate injuries when a female bear with cubs attacked her near her home in Vrh nad Želimljami, a village about 15 kilometres south of Ljubljana, early on Saturday morning, police said.

The woman was taken to the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana. She suffered only light injuries from the attack and was not bitten, but she fractured her hip when she fell to the ground, according to news portal 24ur.

Mitja Spindler, the head of the Škofljica Hunting Club, told 24ur that two elderly locals had heard what they thought were cries for help in the early morning hours and went outside.

When the woman entered the back yard, the bear came running towards her, knocked her over and started pouncing. The animal was scared away by the woman's husband when he started to scream for help.

According to Spindler, the animal had recently tried to attack a jogger in a nearby forest but he had a blank pistol on him and scared the animal away.

The authorities have activated a special Slovenia Forest Service task force trained to take out dangerous bears. The animal will be culled.

If her cubs are under a year old, they will be culled as well because they cannot survive alone. If they are older, they will be spared, according to Spindler.

The attack comes in the midst of heated debates about Slovenia's growing bear population, which is located mostly in the south-west of the country, although individual bears have been sighted on the outskirts of Ljubljana as well.

Just this week the National Assembly passed an emergency law to cull 200 bears and 11 wolves, its original culling decree having been successfully challenged by environmentalists in court.

The passage of the law was prompted by the increasingly frequent attack on livestock, which has triggered several protests by farmers.

Animal researchers support the cull as well, arguing that the population, now estimated to number 1000 animals, is too big for its own good, as frequent attacks risked undermining public acceptance of the species.

Attacks remain rare, however. One to two are recorded each year, and even then people mostly sustain moderate injuries. The last fatal case was recorded several decades ago.

17 Jun 2019, 10:54 AM

STA, 16 June 2019 - The National Assembly will discuss the opposition-sponsored motion to oust Defence Minister Karl Erjavec as it convenes two sessions this week. The opposition Democrats (SDS) believe that Erjavec abused the military intelligence service and unlawfully dismissed the army's force commander. Erjavec appears to enjoy sufficient support to stay on.

Pressure on Erjavec has been rising because a parliamentary commission investigating Erjavec's alleged abuse of the intelligence service has interviewed the dismissed Force Commander Miha Škerbinc last week.

Škerbinc's appearance before the Commission for the Oversight of Intelligence and Security Services behind closed doors on Thursday allegedly showed that Erjavec had been lying about the reasons for Škerbinc's dismissal.

Commission chair Žan Mahnič, an MP for the SDS, said that Škerbinc had provided a report by Chief of the General Staff Alenka Ermenc showing that Škerbinc had not broken the chain of command as regards late-night shooting at training grounds near Postojna.

Commenting on a report by Ermenc saying that the military had been following closely the ministry's order about activities on the training ground, Prime Minister Marjan Šarec said on Friday that Erjavec will have to explain what happened.

The prime minister however also said that the parliamentary commission was a political body. "It has an investigative role but there is a thin line between having powers and abusing powers," the prime minister said, echoing Erjavec's position that the commission had abused its powers for political purposes.

Moreover, Mahnič said that Škerbinc told the commission he had not spread rumours about Ermenc's ill health, which was another reason cited by Erjavec after the dismissal.

Škerbinc said that he had 200 witnesses to prove that he did not spread lies, according to Mahnič, who said that the former force commander told the commission that he condemned the rumours about her poor health that had been going around in an address.

Before debating the motion to oust Erjavec in a dedicated session on Friday, the National Assembly will convene a regular session starting on Monday with questions time for the government.

Other business: Apppointments, energy infrastructure, private schools, bear & wolf culls, tobacco sales

On Tuesday, the MPs will take a vote on the reappointment of Information Commissioner Mojca Prelesnik, the appointment of Rok Čeferin to the Constitutional Court and the appointment of Peter Golob as Electoral Commission chairman.

Moreover, the MPs will conduct the second reading of changes to the energy act transposing two relevant EU regulations and changing compensation procedures for the construction of public energy infrastructure, which was ordered by the Constitutional Court.

The most heated debates can be expected on Wednesday, when parliament is scheduled to launch the first reading of legislative changes drafted to implement a decision by the Constitutional Court ordering the National Assembly to provide equal funding to private primary schools.

Private schools, as well as the opposition Democrats (SDS) and New Slovenia (NSi) believe the changes do not transpose the decision of the Constitutional Court.

On Thursday, MPs are expected to pass a emergency bill ordering the culling of bears and wolves in the wake of attacks on farm animals and increasingly frequent sightings after an environmental NGO successfully challenged the government's decree with the same cull order in Administrative Court.

The parliament is also expected to fast-track changes to the tobacco act postponing by three years the introduction of uniform packaging for tobacco products, initially planned for January 2020. The proponents of the changes want to conduct studies whether the measure is actually effective.

13 Jun 2019, 12:53 PM

STA, 12 June 2019 - The government adopted an intervention bill ordering the culling of overgrown bear and wolf populations on Wednesday. The move comes after a decree with the same order was successfully challenged by an environmental NGO in Administrative Court, leading to a steep increase in wolf and bear attacks on farm animals this year.

The bill stipulates the "removal" of 200 bears, of which 175 are to be culled, while the rest is expected to perish naturally or in car accidents or other incidents. Moreover, 11 wolves are to be culled.

Slovenia is home to 12 wolf packs, each five to ten strong, Agriculture Minister Aleksandra Pivec said as she announced this bill earlier this week. She also said that wolves alone had killed 72 sheep, 19 cows, 15 horses, a donkey and two other farm animals this year.

Slovenia's bear population, which was on the brink of extinction in early 20th century, is estimated at about 1,000, whereas a population of some 400 bears is deemed optimal.

While bear attacks have also caused significant damage in agriculture, with livestock herds decimated in some cases, the government also says that there is a significant risk of bear attacks on humans.

Experts believe that Slovenia's bear population has reached a number that should not be exceeded, underlining that acceptance of big carnivores by the population is key in successful management of their population.

Slovenia has been nearing a boiling point in this respect, with farmers and agricultural associations staging rallies to protest against the government's inaction in the face of their decimated herds.

The bill, drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture, has been filed by the Ministry of Environment, which is in charge of large carnivores management in Slovenia.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary environment and agriculture committees will hold a joint session this afternoon to discuss the attacks of bears and wolves on livestock.

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