Romanian lawmakers are set to meet in a special session to find a solution for the bears that come too close to villages or threaten people’s lives. The Parliament was summoned after a 19-year-old tourist was killed by a bear on the Jepii Mici trail in the Bucegi Mountains. The violent incident sparked heated debates in Romanian society, and some officials reacted by proposing that bear-hunting quotas be drastically increased.

Romania is home to Europe's largest brown bear population, outside of Russia, up to an estimated 8,000, according to official statistics.

The Romanian government, however, seems divided on how to deal with the issue of bears. Environment minister Mircea Fechet said that "relocating bears does not yield results," and given their number, managing them can only be done through euthanasia.

"Managing means either shooting or euthanizing. Because we have found that the relocation method we keep applying yields no results. And I say this because today (e.n. July 10) I spoke with the manager of the hunting grounds where this tragedy occurred. He told me that in recent years they have relocated over 100 bears to other counties, other hunting grounds, and other areas, just from that specific hunting ground," Fechet said, cited by Biziday.

However, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu seems to be looking for another solution.

“It is evident that human life comes first, but there will not be an open season for shooting bears across Romania at will. High-risk areas will be addressed," Ciolacu said. 

President Klaus Iohannis also reacted to the deadly bear attack, saying that Romania is overwhelmed by the bear problem and that he is concerned it has gone this far. He also revealed that he had been on a trail close to the area where the 19-year-old was killed by the wild animal.

“The problem with bears is not new at all. The political class has always reacted to these unfortunate incidents only in a piecemeal fashion. There's a great emotion; a Government meeting is convened, it's discussed in Parliament, and then we move on. If we want to continue having healthy tourism, we need to understand that we cannot let people be killed by animals, just as I don't think animals should be for amusement. A middle ground must be found,” Iohannis said, cited by Digi24.

“It is evident that we have too many bears, too many incidents where people are injured or even killed by bears, and this cannot continue,” he added.

Last year, the Ministry of Environment issued an order increasing the number of bears to be shot to 500, but after public consultations, approval was given for 220 bears.

Bear attacks have featured heavily in the news cycle in recent months. A bear that repeatedly attacked animals at the Târgu Mureş Zoo in central Romania was shot in an operation organized by the gendarmes. Another entered a yard and killed several animals, including an alpaca, in the town of Păulești, Prahova County. 

Meanwhile, a new video surfaced online, showing two tourists who had irresponsibly gotten out of a car to feed a bear on the Transfăgărășan road and were attacked by the animal. A bear cub can be seen nearby. At one point, the bear attacks one of the men, who falls to the ground, but the animal runs away, frightened by the honking cars. Authorities have repeatedly urged tourists not to feed the animals or approach them.

NGOs argue that a different approach is needed in response to the radical solutions proposed by environment minister Mircea Fechet.

“The bear's habitat continues to be degraded. Households near the bear's habitat are unprotected. Tourists are uneducated. Authorities are unequipped and untrained,” said environmental NGO Agent Green.

The organization also said it would report the Romanian government to the European Commission "for the crimes committed and will take all legally possible actions to ensure that trophy hunters do not have their way." NGOs are particularly concerned with the fact that trophy hunters will use increased bear hunting quotas to go after the largest bears and not the ones that actually threaten human life.

The issue, however, remains. Romania’s Special Telecommunications System announced on Wednesday, July 11, that over 7,500 calls to 112 last year reported the presence of bears in various areas, including attacks by them. This number is 4.5 times higher than in 2019. In 2024, there have already been over 2,200 calls.

Romania is not the only country dealing with a larger bear population. The number of bears has been increasing across Europe, from around 84,000 in 2013 to 96,000 in 2022. The number of bears is rising in Spain, Slovenia, Italy, and Romania, and there is evidence of higher numbers in Kosovo.

Many countries are ill-equipped to manage this surge and do not help the local population cope with bears, according to the Bears Uncovered project. Almost half of all bear attacks happen when humans encounter a female with cubs. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Cateyeperspective and Ondřej Prosický on Dreasmtime.com)