Kassel, Germany  - Practically all the half million raccoons which infest the forests and parks of Central Europe are believed to descend from just four animals released in the woods near the German city of Kassel in the Nazi period.

Raccoons have never had a good press in Europe. Not only are they North American interlopers, there is also a persistent story that they were introduced to provide hunting pleasure for Marshal Hermann Goering, the head of Adolf Hitler's Luftwaffe.

Kassel, Germany (dpa) - German police shot and killed one of two escaped circus bears Sunday in the central city of Kassel.

Police said the animal had bitten the leg of an officer who was trying to catch it.

Circus owner Daniel Renz voiced outrage: "Both these animals were 25 years old and had been circus bears all their lives. They were never aggressive. I could have led the bear away by its ear. That is what I did when I took the second bear back to its cage."

Kassel, Germany  - Even though the wintry weather in central Europe is right for hikes in the snow, hikers should not exert themselves, warned Hans-Ulrich Rauchfuss, president of the Kassel-based German Hiking Association.

Exercise in cold weather was generally good for the body, Rauchfuss added. But people who exerted themselves or perspired heavily and then cooled down could easily put excessive demands on their body's defences. So hikers should pace themselves.