The bear that killed a woman in Bistrita was shot after returning to the area of the attack. In Brașov, the chemical sterilization of animals is taken into account
The bear that, at the beginning of May, killed a 53-year-old woman in the area of Bichigiu, Bistrita-Năsăud county, was shot on Friday, after returning to the place where it attacked the victim.
The presence of bears in localities is increasingly reported. PHOTO Shutterstock
According to teams on the ground, the bear, an approximately 300-kilogram male, showed no fear of humans and became aggressive when specialists tried to monitor it.
For this reason, the authorities decided to shoot him, considering him to be an imminent danger. The intervention took place near a lake.
The death of the 53-year-old woman from Bichigiu, on May 8, 2026, brought back into focus the growing risks generated by the presence of bears in the isolated areas of Bistrița-Năsăud county. The victim lived in seclusion, and on the day of the tragedy he had gone to take care of the animals on the land on the nearby hills, according to PowerNews.ro
Because she did not return home, the relatives started looking for her and alerted the authorities.
The woman was found dead in a ravine with injuries consistent with a bear attack, and a dead cow was also nearby. The police have opened a criminal case and are continuing the investigation to establish the exact circumstances of the incident, while the victim's body is to be subjected to an autopsy.
Recently, a 72-year-old man was attacked by another bear in the same area. In that case, authorities believe it was a female bear with cubs.
Both attacks took place in the outskirts of Bichigiu, in isolated, hard-to-reach areas, where the presence of wild animals is frequent.
Brașov: 25 calls to 112 in one night. Chemical sterilization of bears is considered
Brașov, which is facing an alarming increase in incidents caused by bears, which descend more and more frequently in the city in search of food, is considering the chemical sterilization of the bears, according to TVR Info.
In one night, the authorities received 25 calls to 112, reporting the presence of animals in several neighborhoods, including the central area.
In the Răcădău neighborhood, located on the edge of the forest, bears appear daily, and the usual methods of driving them away – acoustic and light signals – no longer have an effect on the specimens accustomed to people. More and more locals avoid the forest even during the day.
In the last few days, two bears were shot after they became aggressive and could no longer be removed from inhabited areas. One of them wore rattles, a sign that he had been captured and relocated before, but had constantly returned to the city.
Deputy Mayor Dan Ghiță explained that the authorities are overwhelmed by the magnitude of the phenomenon. Building an electric fence, a solution applied in small towns like Tușnad or Râșnov, is impossible on the scale of Brașov, a city with over 16,000 hectares.
Estimates show that approximately 110 bears live in the Brașov area, ten times over the optimal capacity of the local ecosystem.
Cristina Lapis, president of the “Millions of Friends” Association, claims that temporary chemical sterilization of bears would reduce aggression and prevent reproduction for several years, without permanent effects. The association offered to carry out the sterilizations for free.
We remind you that, in March, a 58-year-old man was attacked by a bear in a forest in Mureş county. The intervention teams found that he was conscious and had injuries to his legs and a fracture to his left hand. The victim was picked up by a SMURD helicopter and taken to the hospital.
