Not only did Bruno the brown bear spend seven weeks wandering the mountains of Bavaria, but he also spent his fair share of time moseying through the German media. Stories about his eating habits -- including sheep, bunnies, guinea pigs, and beehives -- and his travels abounded.

Now, though, Bruno is dead . Howls of indignation have gone up from environmental groups and the general public. And anonymous death threats have been made against the unnamed hunter who shot him dead on Monday morning. There have likewise been calls for the resignation of Bavaria's environment minister who ordered him taken out. Fittingly, given the amount of papers Bruno helped sell, German media commentators are also in mourning , as much for the untimely death of the two-year-old as for the end of a great story. The papers are divided on whether he should have been shot, but there's agreement on one thing: if you're a brown bear, don't come to Germany.

Venerable Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung devotes a long two-column editorial to Bruno on its front page, in a space usually reserved for weighty analyses of international diplomacy or the finer points of domestic politics. "The shot that killed Bruno at dawn wasn't just aimed at the rebellious bear. It was aimed at the whole of nature that doesn't adjust itself," writes the conservative daily. Hypocrisy rules in animal and nature protection, writes the paper. "Densely populated central Europe is welcoming the return of beavers, cranes and bearded vultures. The species serve excellently as proof of an improved quality of the environment. But woe betide them if they're a nuisance to humans, as the brown bear from South Tyrol dared to become. He even worried mountain bikers, which is a monstrous thing to do." Humans want nature to be tame and risk-free, writes the paper. "Civilized humans abhor nature that resists being tamed."

Mass circulation Bild Zeitung, which has provided blow-by-blow coverage of Bruno's antics over the past seven weeks, has gone into mourning and even suggests his death is a dampener to the country's World Cup euphoria. "It's a shot into our hearts. It hurts," laments Bild. "Our fluttering flags of joy are at half mast. Bruno has left a big gap. Bruno B. was no monster. Bruno was the first brown bear to visit us in 170 years -- a guest among friends. Bruno also symbolized a feeling: The forest is alive! Bruno was the living teddy bear in a world of mobile phones, flat screen TVs and frustration with politics." It adds: "Bruno was live, authentic, anarchic." It was comforting that he remained free up until his death, says the paper. "Bruno's paws tore chickens and sheep apart. He was probably a danger to children. A shot tore apart Bruno's lung and our idyll. Bruno, we're going to miss you."

Die Welt says the furore caused by Bruno has embarrassed Germany. Slovenia and Austria have learnt how to deal with bears. "They have got used to tolerating a degree of conflict, a tolerance that can only be sustained if the nation isn't up in arms every time a shed door gets broken open. It's not just Bruno with his lack of brainpower, the Germans too have behaved pretty stupidly in the last four weeks."

Center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung says Germany needs to prepare itself to accommodate bears, because more are likely to be on their way. It has a cartoon of a hunter with a blanket on his head sitting in an armchair below the mounted trophy of Bruno's head -- a reference to the death threats against the anonymous shooter whose identity authorities have wisely declined to reveal.

In fact, the paper feels a bit sorry for the authorities who ordered him killed. If the Bruno had hurt a human, unlikely though that is, "one can well imagine what would have happened to the minister responsible: he would have been certain to get a public execution, albeit just regarding his political career." Now the government needs to prepare the Bavarians for a gradual resettlement of bears, writes Süddeutsche. "The large predators weren't given a rapturous welcome in Austria either at first. It took tenacity to convince people, and a management that prevented bears and humans from getting too close to each other. "Stables can be better secured, cheeky bears can be taught with the help of rubber bullets that visiting people's homes is no picnic. People need to be educated. There is a need for biological information that is free from cuddly romanticism and panic-mongering: a real brown bear is neither a furry teddy bear nor killer."