Romanian authorities kill bear that attacked and killed tourist on mountain trail

Prahova County gendarmes were called to the Jepii Mici tourist trail in the Bucegi Mountains after a 19-year-old tourist was attacked and killed by a bear. The animal was particularly aggressive and had to be put down, authorities said.

Another tourist witnessed the attack on the woman and called 112. He said the woman was dragged by the bear to a place where he could no longer see what was happening to her. The body was later found mutilated.

First responders faced a difficult situation while attempting to recover the body as the bear remained in the area and attempted to attack them as well.

“We were informed that a tourist was attacked by a bear on the Jepii Mici hiking trail near Valea Spumoasă. A rescue team from Salvamont Prahova entered the area, rappelled down into the valley and found the victim, who was unfortunately dead. The rescue operation is extremely difficult due to the rugged terrain and the persistent presence of the bear, which is staying about 10-15 meters away from the mountain rescuers,” Salvamont Prahova said, according to G4Media.

“This is a situation we have never experienced before. (…) We have experienced situations where animals came, threatened, demanded food, made their presence felt in order to get something. But here it already seems to be a direct attack, and this is not typical for bears. We need to see exactly what influenced it. Maybe the heat, maybe an illness the animal is suffering from. We need to see exactly what changed its behavior so radically that such incidents occur,” the president of Salvamont Romania, Sabin Cornoiu, told EuropaFM.

In order to protect themselves, the gendarmes were eventually forced to kill the bear. The decision to kill the wild animal was made because it repeatedly attacked the rescuers who descended into the ravine to recover the body of the young woman.

Former Environment Minister Tanczos Barna commented on the tragic incident, saying it could have been avoided if his bill to reintroduce hunting had been passed.

“We are no longer safe on mountain paths, we are no longer safe on agricultural lands and in certain areas we are not even safe within town boundaries. It requires commitment and responsibility from the legislature and an urgent decision to prevent such tragedies. I express my sincere condolences to the grieving family and continue to believe that nothing can be more important than human lives,” added Tanczos Barna, quoted by Agerpres.

The former minister has long advocated bear hunting quotas, but environmental NGOs have also pointed out that eradicating dominant bears will create an imbalance in the bear population and will likely increase it. In previous years, hunters used hunting permits to hunt valuable bears rather than those that actually threatened human settlements.

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(Photo source: Fernbach Antal | Dreamstime.com)