August 29, 2006
So huggable
From MS/NBC comes this valuable bit of backwoods information:Never hug a Swiss cow, hikers toldMake sense -- more people on the trails and more clueless people out there. A cow can weigh 1,200 to 2000 pounds; they are large animals. A small misstep on their part could result in serious injury to someone standing near who was not accustomed to dealing with them. The Swiss website also has this informative poster (excerpted):
'Reports of unpleasant meetings' with cattle prompt new ground rules
Keep your distance. Avoid eye contact. And even if it looks cute, never hug a Swiss cow.
Responding to numerous “reports of unpleasant meetings between hikers and cattle” along Switzerland’s picture-perfect Alpine trails this summer, the Swiss Hiking Federation has laid down a few ground rules.
“Leave the animals in peace and do not touch them. Never caress a calf,” according to the group’s guidance, posted on the Web site www.swisshiking.ch.
“Do not scare the animals or look them directly in the eye. Do not wave sticks. Give a precise blow to the muzzle of the cow in the event of absolute need,” it advises.
Evelyne Zaugg of the Swiss Hiking Federation said that while there were no precise statistics on incidents involving cows, walkers are reporting more run-ins than a few years ago.
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