On March 21, in the Malá Fatra mountains near Bratislava, Slovakia, a European brown bear attacked a man who was hiking with his dog. The bear was reported to have had cubs with her. Mr. Piotr was carrying a mid-sized axe, which was used to clear brush and trim limbs.The axe appears similar to what we would have called a “cruiser” axe, about a 3/4-sized axe with a single-bit head. Mr. Piotr casually swings the axe as he walks along. It is something this correspondent often did while walking through the forest over 50 years ago. An axe is a...