Slovakia
Woman flees from brown bear and falls to death
The animal in Slovakia was a brown bear like this one
© Friso Gentsch / DPA
Tragic accident in Slovakia: Two people encounter a brown bear while hiking. While trying to escape, the woman falls down a slope and dies.
It was initially thought that the brown bear may have attacked the woman directly. When the mountain rescue service arrived, the wild animal was still in the immediate vicinity, according to the emergency services. “Fortunately, the bear was able to be driven away with the help of a service dog, screams and a warning shot from a police officer,” said a spokesman.
Slovakia: Just over 1000 brown bears left
The accident occurred in the Demänovska Dolina valley near the Jasna winter sports center in the Low Tatras, a mountain range in the Carpathians. A bear response team from the State Nature Conservation Unit (SOPSR) was on its way there to investigate the incident.
According to studies by the State Nature Conservation Agency in collaboration with scientists from Charles University in Prague, there are around 1,100 to 1,200 wild bears in Slovakia. They usually avoid people if they notice them in time. If there is a surprise encounter or if female bears believe their cubs are threatened, they can also attack. In the current case it was still unclear whether it was a male or a female animal.