Two young men were hospitalized with serious injuries after a bear attacked them in a central area of the town of Băile Tuşnad, in Harghita county.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning, August 5. The two men, aged 27, were heading to the train station when the bear attacked one of them. The second man was also attacked while trying to help his friend, local Mediafax reported. The two suffered serious injuries to the legs, chest and face area, being transported to the hospital in Miercurea Ciuc.

It’s not the first time when such an incident occurs in Băile Tuşnad, as bears come to the city to look for food almost daily. For example, on July 25, a participant at the Summer University in Baile Tuşnad was also attacked by a bear on the street, being seriously injured. After that incident, Harghita County Council president Borboly Csaba urged the Government to approve measures to relocate the animals from the area, saying that the bears could attack other people as well.

Moreover, a few days ago, a bear entered an orphanage in the town of Băile Tuşnad, looking for food. Fortunately, the incident occurred during the night and no one was injured.

It is believed that there are over 200,000 brown bears in the world, and estimates say that over 6,000 of them roam Romania’s forests in the Carpathian Mountains: the largest population of bears within the European Union. Read more about the brown bear in Romania here: Nature in the Fagaras Mountains: Romania’s brown bear

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com