Yvonne, Germany's runaway cow, is safe and happy

After three months "on the run" Yvonne - Germany's "fugitive" cow - is safe and happily reunited with her son and sister and enjoying a new life at an animal sanctuary in southern Germany.

Yvonne, Germany's runaway cow (screenshot from Guardian website)

Yvonne's story is one that has captured the imagination of both the German and international media over the past couple of months ever since she, in the words of NPR, "Darted to freedom just as she was about to be sent to the slaughterhouse."

After 98 days on the run, she has finally been captured.

Actually, to be absolutely precise and, in spite of all the attempts German authorities have made to find her, Yvonne "gave herself up" when she wandered into the meadow of a farmer last week.

Yes, a silly summer story with a happy ending.




Yvonne, a six-year-old dairy cow, first hit the headlines back in May when broke through an electric fence of a farm in the village of Zangberg, 80 kilometres northeast of Munich.

She had been due to be sent for slaughter.

Her exact whereabouts remained a mystery for the next three months although she was believed to be "in hiding" somewhere in a nearby forest.

At one point she was spotted crossing a road, almost colliding with a police car, which led to the local authority giving hunters the go-ahead to shoot on sight because she was reportedly a potential threat to traffic.

It was an order they later overturned after animal rights groups protested and the national daily tabloid Bild Zeitung took up her cause.

The paper offered a €10,000 reward for anyone who could find her, and kept the story alive with regular updates.

The Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary also stepped in, stumping up €700 to buy Yvonne from her former owners and taking the lead in the search to find her; and it resorted to some extraordinary measures.

They included enlisting the help of her sister Waltraut, who had also made a dash for freedom when Yvonne disappeared but had later returned, to lure her out of hiding.

And the services of Ernst, the so-called "George Clooney of bulls" to woo her home with his "deep baritone moo".

Ernst the bull (screenshot from ZDF news report)

They also called upon the "skills" of an animal communications expert from Switzerland, Franziska Matti, to tempt Yvonne to return.

But as Matti said after she had "spoken" to the cow (telepathically of course) "Yvonne was not ready to come out of hiding" and even though "she knew that Ernst had been waiting for her she was scared and thought that humans would lock her up and she would no longer be free."

Huh!



Yvonne remained elusive - until last week that is when she wandered on to a meadow of farmer Karl Gutmann to join the rest of his grazing herd.

He informed the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary who confirmed it was Yvonne by her ear tag.

Gutmann claimed his reward and Yvonne headed off to spend the rest of her days with her son Friesi and her sister at the animal sanctuary in the southern Bavarian town of Deggendorf.

But, even though Gut Aiderbichl says on its website that she has arrived safe and sound and is settling in, it wasn't exactly been an easy job loading her on to the transporter.

True to her reputation apparently, she struggled and even pushed over the vet who was trying to tranquilise her.

Annecy crosses its fingers for 2018 Winter Olympic bid

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be gathering in the South African city of Durban on Wednesday to decide which city will host the 2018 Winter Games.

In the running still are three bids; Pyeongchang in South Korea, Munich in Germany and Annecy , the picturesque "Venice of the Alps" in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

(screenshot from official video)

The French candidature has been beset by problems, not least of which was the resignation in December 2010 of the president of its bid committee, former Olympic medallist Edgar Grospiron, because he feared the city couldn't stump up enough money to be successful in securing the games.

A replacement was eventually found in the form of French businessman Charles Beigbeder who remains upbeat about Annecy's chances even though most pundits rank them as pretty slim.

"Anything is possible," Beigbeder told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday morning.


"There are still three candidates in the running and the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogues, has said that they're all strong bids," he continued.

"Hosting the games is not just about business," he said.

"The Games is an opportunity for the Olympic movement to fulfil its mission of transmitting sporting values to the entire world."

Doesn't that sound like the speech of a man who reckons he's on the losing side?

As the weekly news magazine Le Point says, international leaders turning up at the final presentation in front of the IOC to support a bid has paid dividends in the past; Tony Blair for the 2012 London Olympic, Vladimir Poutin for the 2014 Winter Games in Sotchi and Lula (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) supporting Rio's 2016 Summer Games success.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has chosen to stay away from Wednesday's presentation, a move which the magazine says some (cynics) might interpret as not wanting to be associated with a "loser" ahead of next year's presidential election.

Nothing could be further from the truth as far as Beigbeder is concerned.

'The president has always supported our bid and has written to each member of the IOC personally - which is very rare," he said.

'The prime minister, François Fillon will be making part of the presentation and we're proud of the team we've built," he continued.

"We are confident, determined and humble because we know it'll be difficult. But anything is possible."

Bonne chance.

At least Annecy cannot lose to Qatar!


Carte-postale-sport par annecy-2018

Annecy Winter Olympics bid suffers a setback

Not all is well with the town of Annecy, that picturesque "Venice of the Alps" in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

Or at least not when it comes to its hopes for hosting the Winter Olympics in 2018.

Because on Sunday, Edgar Grospiron, the head of the bid committee, resigned.

Happier days when Edgar Grospiron was still "proud and enthusiastic" at being the head of the bid committee (screenshot from TV8 Mont-Blanc, February 2010)

His decision of course was all about money.

The former Olympic champion quit his post because as far as he was concerned, the €20 million budget simply wasn't enough.

“I cannot win the Games with the budget we have and in the time remaining,” he said.

"We have a lot of important things to do, but we just don't have the means to be competitive."

Ah yes.

Proof once again that when it comes to the Olympics - whether they're the Summer or Winter games - cash (along with lobbying) is arguably one of the most important factors.

Of course the French Olympic Committee (Le Comité national olympique et sportif français, CNOSF) attempted to play down what was undoubtedly a blow.

Its president, Denis Masseglia, said that a successor would be appointed within the next couple of days and Grospiron would still be helping out in an advisory role.

"We continue (our bid) with humility and authenticity," he said in what is surely just another way of admitting that he didn't really hold much hope of Annecy being chosen.

Mind you Masseglia's rather noble sentiment was one echoed by the newly appointed minister of sports, Chantal Jouanno, in an interview with the national daily Le Parisien.

She, of course, was disappointed in the wake of Grospiron's resignation, but also called for "commitment and dignity."

"The French are often their own worst enemies," she admitted.

"Now is the time to look forward rather than back and to roll up our sleeves," she continued, sounding more like a typical sports journalist with every word.

"Withdrawal isn't an option. We have to defend the image of France and follow through the bid to its end with dignity especially as its (Annecy's) bid isn't a bad one."

Her solution? Lobbying and communication.

Ah, that's the spirit. Time to stand up and sing La Marseillaise.

Somehow though the smart money (yep it's hard to get away from the "filthy lucre") is on the other two cities bidding to host the 2018 Games; fellow European rival Munich and South Korea's Pyeongchang, which is making its third consecutive attempt to host the Games.

The International Olympic Committee will select the host city at a meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 6, 2011.

The last time France staged the Winter Games was in Albertville in 1992.

The CNOSF awarded Annecy the right to bid on behalf of France back in March last year and (to any reasonable thinking person) the town has been considered an outsider from the outset.

Hallelujah for the Olympic ideal!