Tourist who attempted to feed brown bear is mauled to death
Omar Farang Zin, 49, was touring on his motorcycle in the Carpathian Mountains on the famous Transfagarasan Highway on Thursday when he stopped next to a sign that warned tourists not to feed the bears, according to Observator News, Romania's leading news agency, and the BBC.
'He got off his motorcycle and offered the bear food,' Armand Chiriloiu, the director of the Arges Forestry Directorate, told Observator News.
The bear attacked Zin and dragged him down a steep ravine with an elevation drop of 262 feet, the BBC reported. Tourists alerted the police and emergency services.
'Unfortunately, he was already dead when we arrived,' Ion Sanduloiu, head of the Arges County Mountain Rescue Service, told the BBC. 'The injuries were extremely severe. Even though he was wearing a helmet and full protective gear, it wasn't enough.'
The police, emergency services and forestry officials who responded to the scene found themselves in danger of the same bear.
'The bear followed us the whole time,' Dragos Onea of the Arges County Mountain Rescue Service told Observator News. 'She was very agitated. She attacked us a few times too. We also had [hunters] from Silvic. They were pointing their rifles at her the whole time.'
The hunters ultimately killed the aggressive bear, and police patrolled the area to chase tourists away.
The day before the attack, Zin posted a photo album of the bear encounters on his Facebook page.
Romania is home to the largest brown bear population in the European Union with the country's environmental ministry estimating it to be upwards of 12,800 bears, according to the BBC.
Tourists from all over Europe travel to this area specifically to see bears in the wild.
The environment ministry said that nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last 20 years, the Daily Mail reported.
Last July, a 19-year-old girl was killed in a violent bear attack in the Bucegi mountains in central Romania. A few months before that, a 72-year-old tourist from Scotland was mauled by a bear in Arges county after rolling down her car window to take a photo of the animal, according to The Independent.
'A very large population has finally lost its fear of humans,' Ovidiu Ionescu, a forestry expert, told Observator News. 'The natural habitats in Romania can support around 4,000 bears. So we have an overpopulation that leads to all these accidents.'
Selfie photo by Omar Farang Zin.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Tourist who attempted to feed brown bear is mauled to death
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