Medvědí tlapa - Příběhy zvířat a lidí – Ešner Antonín (2026)

The contents of this Czech-language collection of stories are set in hunting and gamekeeping environments. The title comes from the main story, which takes place about a year after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, an event that affected the whole world and continues to have a negative impact on many ecosystems. Its central character, Václav, loses both parents under mysterious circumstances within two months. To help him recover from this painful loss, his uncle Jano invites him to the autumn rut in the Malá Fatra mountains and gives him a permit to hunt a cull stag. Václav brings his friend Rudolf and Rudolf’s son Adam, and together they experience unforgettable moments in the beautiful countryside. Their hunt gradually turns into a drama when Rudolf shoots a bear cub in the fog, mistaking it for a wild boar. Soon after returning home, Rudolf dies as well, leaving Adam an orphan. Václav, who has no children of his own, takes him in and adopts him as his son, enabling him to study natural history because of his deep relationship with nature. Adam later becomes a warden in the Beskydy Protected Landscape Area, working with colleagues from the Malá Fatra mountains to protect migrating wolves, bears, and lynxes. About twenty years later, he and his adoptive father revisit the places where the three of them once shared extraordinary adventures. The book also includes other stories from hunting and gamekeeping environments.