Italian Mushroom Hunters.

[Tawmis]

Can someone explain why they wear camo and hunt in the dark?

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MILAN (Reuters) – At least 18 mushroom-lovers have been killed in accidents while hunting for their favorite fungi in the mountains and forests of northern Italy.

Mountain rescuers say eager mushroom seekers are abandoning safety procedures as they don camouflage and hunt in darkness to protect coveted troves, la Repubblica newspaper reported on Sunday.

"There is too much carelessness. Too many people don't give a darn about the right rules and unfortunately this is the result," Gino Comelli, head of the Alpine rescue service in northwest Italy's Valle di Fassa, told the newspaper.

Seventeen people have died in nine days -- six in 48 hours alone -- mostly from sliding off steep, damp slopes in the northern mountains, la Repubblica said in a story headlined "the massacre of the mushroom hunters."

Another person has been missing for more than a week, it said.

Ansa news agency said a man who had been hunting mushrooms was found dead on Sunday in the Alpine region of Valtellina.

A combination of August thunderstorms and hot weather has led to a bumper mushroom crop that has drawn the first hunters of what is expected to be a boom season.

[AndreaDraco]

I don't know, precisely, but I think that's because in many places it's illegal to hunt mushrooms. Don't quote me on this, though

[Tawmis]

I don't know, precisely, but I think that's because in many places it's illegal to hunt mushrooms. Don't quote me on this, though

Too late.

So that's what I figured... it was the illegal form... It just seems... a bit... extreme... especially with 18 people dead just HUNTING them...

And really is "hunting" the proper term? It's not even like the Mushrooms scamper away if they hear you or something...

[MusicallyInspired]

From reading the title I expect this to be a thread about Mario Bros.

[Datadog]

Same here!

[Collector]

Mountain rescuers say eager mushroom seekers are abandoning safety procedures as they don camouflage and hunt in darkness to protect coveted troves

To keep productive spots secret from other mushroom hunters. I know of morel hunters who go to great lengths to keep their spots secret.

[Tawmis]

From reading the title I expect this to be a thread about Mario Bros.

You weren't far off. It appears that the Mario Brothers posed for a camera shot when they found their mushrooms...

The camera was later found, and the two were arrested.

[Jules]

[Akril]

Mountain rescuers say eager mushroom seekers are abandoning safety procedures as they don camouflage and hunt in darkness to protect coveted troves

To keep productive spots secret from other mushroom hunters. I know of morel hunters who go to great lengths to keep their spots secret.

I don't know any serious mushroom hunters myself, but I do concur that they are very protective of their favorite patches. I don't know much about laws regarding mushroom collecting either, but I seem to recall a local newspaper headline from a few years back about some people getting busted for smuggling chanterelles. (These are the kind of newspaper articles you get when you live in a small town.)

And as for why it's called mushroom hunting, I can only guess as to why that is so. Mushrooms don't last for very long, so you have to hurry when the season starts before they rot, shrivel up or get eaten by maggots, insects or other animals. There's also some competition with other hunters (who may beat you to a patch or try to steer you away from one), and some mushrooms can be very hard to find, so you have to keep a sharp eye out for them.

But wow...actually dying while hunting mushrooms? And here I thought mushrooming was one of the more harmless "wilderness activities."

[Collector]

But wow...actually dying while hunting mushrooms? And here I thought mushrooming was one of the more harmless "wilderness activities."

They could also end up collecting toadstools instead.

[Akril]

But wow...actually dying while hunting mushrooms? And here I thought mushrooming was one of the more harmless "wilderness activities."

They could also end up collecting toadstools instead.

Good point. I'm sure there are a lot more deaths from mushroom poisoning than deaths from mushroom hunting.