When
Romanians shot Nicolae Ceausescu, it was good news for the bears -- the
Communist dictator had shot hundreds of them personally.

Now, though, the party's over -- the bears have become so numerous in
some areas that Romanians are shooting them again.

In Brasov, more than a dozen brown bears have been picnicking on
garbage among the city's drab tower blocks, prompting authorities to
begin culling the animals, which have been hunted to extinction in much
of the rest of Europe.

"We've put down three and plan to kill another four in the
coming weeks," the head of the local hunting association, Tudor
Danet, told reporters on Thursday. "They might become
dangerous."

Since Ceausescu's summary execution on Christmas Day 1989, bear
numbers have risen sharply, Danet added -- Ceausescu used to invite
cronies and foreign dignitaries to lavish shooting parties, sometimes
bagging dozens of bears in a single day.

Some locals who have been making money by acting as guides for
Western tourists keen for a sight of the animals are not happy about the
cull. But Danet said the area of Transylvanian mountain around Brasov
could not support the 34 bears there now. "It's a pity,"
German tourist Erich Zimen told television in Brasov, "They are
wonderful. And if you are courageous you can even feed them."