ABSTRACT
The frameworks within which human–large carnivore encounters were narrated in Sweden changed during the nineteenth century. As the practises of hunting, zoology and the discourse about such matters changed, the view of the animals differed. This chapter aims at discussing this development as it was expressed in hunting stories, zoology and newspapers. The bear was the most admired of the four large carnivores existing in Sweden at the time. Stories about bears were common in folklore and were often considered trustworthy. Hunting stories about bears can be considered a subgenre with the huntsman Llewellyn Lloyd as the Nestor. The official management of large carnivores, developed during the nineteenth century, was thus mainly aimed at eradicating them or driving predators away. The relationship between human and carnivores was increasingly described in economic terms. In the Swedish parliament hunting was quite frequently discussed and the aim was most often to encourage a more effective hunt for large carnivores.
