Germany's slain bear comes back as a teddy

German toy makers said they were planning to produce a teddy bear to immortalise Bruno, the roaming bear which was shot by hunters after spreading panic in the south of the country.

าIt will be a cuddly tribute,ำ Margarete Steiff Ltd said in a statement.

The company said it is planning to produce a limited edition of 2,000 bears and to start delivery before the end of the week.

The soft toy will have a small black bow around the neck and stand about 30 centimetres tall.

There has been a public outcry about the decision to kill the two-year-old brown bear that made its way from the Adamello-Brenta nature reserve in Italyีs northern Trentino to Bavaria in southern Germany in May.

Bruno wandered about the region weeks for weeks, feeding on sheep, goats, poultry and rabbits on farms, and frequently slipping across the border into Austria.

It was shot dead by members of the local hunting association on Monday at the orders of Austrian and German officials after attempts to capture it alive failed.

The Bavarian hunting association has refused to identify the shooter for fear of reprisals after it received a flood of hate mail.

Two filmmakers from the region on Tuesday said they have for several weeks been working on a movie script about the adventures of the bear.

าWhat is interesting is a single bear can cause such uproar,ำ said author Karin Michalke.

It was the first bear to set foot in Germany since 1835 when one was shot by hunters in Bavaria.

The press on Tuesday asked why hunters managed to kill Bruno a mere day after the government gave the order, while trackers searched for it in vain for two weeks.