They escaped only because they let their dog off the leash, and the cows pursued Junior as he fled into the forest. Others threatened to stop taking their cows into the Alps altogether, a move that would allow nature to cut back in. On average, a farmer in Tyrol owns 12 cows, but the more dramatic the landscape gets, the lower that figure goes. Over the past decade, more than 25,000 cows have vanished from the Austrian Alps, according to the Agriculture Ministry, along with hundreds of pastures left for nature. “People want the pastures, they want cows and farmers in Lederhosen,” he said.

Source: Washington Post August 12, 2020 11:05 UTC