2024-04-15 01:05:35
A bear injured two tourists in the central Slovak Poľana mountain range on Sunday. Rescuers and members of the Brown Bear Response Team went to the scene. The injured couple was transported to the hospital in Banská Bystrica by helicopter, the Slovak press agency TASR reported. The men, aged 39 and 49, have injuries to their hands and feet as well as their faces. Their condition is stabilized. According to the media, the injury of one of them is serious.
The collision with the bear took place outside the tourist trail, rescue workers said. Due to the difficult-to-access terrain, the helicopter could not land, and there was also a risk that the bear could still move around. The wounded were pulled aboard the helicopter using a winch.
Clashes between humans and bears are not uncommon in Slovakia. A case from March this year, when a bear injured several people in the city of Liptovský Mikuláš in the north of the country, attracted considerable attention from the public and politicians. Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba later informed that the attacking bear was shot, but according to the representative of the opposition, the intervention team shot another animal.
The topic of possible regulation of the number of protected bears hit the campaign in Slovakia before last year’s parliamentary elections and before the recent presidential election.