Police warn citizens

Bear seriously injures 66-year-old mushroom hunter

Brown bear (symbolic image)

(Bild: APA/dpa/Horst Ossinger (Symbolbild))

A brown bear has attacked and seriously injured a mushroom hunter in Slovakia. The 66-year-old man was taken to hospital by helicopter, according to the rescue service. 

According to the rescue service, the 66-year-old mainly suffered injuries to his hands and legs, but is conscious and out of danger. Despite his injuries, he was able to call the emergency services himself after the attack. 

Worse prevented 
As reported by TV news channel TA3 and public television STVR, the man had been picking mushrooms in the undergrowth of a forest area belonging to the north-western Slovakian municipality of Kanianka and probably surprised the bear. A STVR reporter suspected that the fact that he fended off the animal with his mushroom basket may at least have saved him from even more serious injuries.

Police call on the public to exercise caution
The police called on people in the area to exercise caution. The brown bear task force of the state nature conservation agency is already on its way to investigate the incident.

According to an official count, there are around 1200 bears living in the wild in Slovakia. They normally avoid people if they notice them in time. However, attacks can occur in the event of surprise encounters or when mother animals see their cubs in danger.

Fatal attack at the beginning of October
At the beginning of October, one such collision ended fatally for a mushroom picker. Since the beginning of the year, more than 40 so-called problem bears have been shot in Slovakia, which have repeatedly ventured into human settlements and even urban areas and were therefore considered a threat to humans. The shootings are politically controversial.