Bear cubs to be relocated to sanctuary after mother killed over fatal attack on Romania’s Transfăgărășan

The three bear cubs left orphaned after their mother was shot and killed following the deadly attack on the Transfăgărășan mountain road last week are to be taken in by a wildlife rehabilitation center in Zărnești, Romania’s Environment Ministry announced

The female bear attacked and killed a motorcyclist on the Transfăgărășan last Thursday after the man had gotten off his bike to feed and photograph the animal despite the warning signs posted along the popular tourist road. The victim’s body was recovered from a ravine, while the wild animal was later identified and shot.

After the female bear was euthanized, the presence of three cubs in the area was confirmed. According to the legislation, when a female bear is removed, any orphaned cubs must be urgently relocated to specialized care facilities.

The Environment Ministry stated that it had formally requested the Argeș Forest Directorate to finalize the rescue operation on July 7, stressing that the cubs’ safety and welfare must be ensured.

“We welcome the willingness of the bear rehabilitation center in Zărnești, managed by the “Millions of Friends” Association, to take in and care for the cubs. The presence of such a responsible and well-prepared partner is essential for rapid and effective interventions,” the ministry said.

The Environment Ministry added that it would continue to monitor the case and called on local authorities to act promptly and in full compliance with wildlife protection laws.

Bear encounters are not unusual in mountain areas of Romania, as the country is home to a large population of brown bears. In April, the Ministry of Environment shared the preliminary results of a study estimating the brown bear population to be between 10,419 and 12,770.

Last week’s incident on the Transfăgărășan highlights once again the real danger tourists face when ignoring official warnings to maintain a safe distance if encountering a bear, not to feed wild animals, and to refrain from taking photographs with them. 

Ion Sănduloiu, head of Salvamont Argeș, warned that uncontrolled interactions between tourists and wild animals, especially feeding bears, inevitably lead to tragedies. “The moment someone gives food to a bear, the bear is sentenced to death. And the bear’s death sentence can result from an incident like this. That is, either a fatal attack or an attack where it destroys a hand… these have all happened recently,” he told news channel Digi24.

One such incident happened in May this year, when a foreign tourist was bitten by a bear while attempting to feed the animal near a hotel in Arefu commune, Argeș county, along Romania’s scenic Transfăgărășan road.

Gabriel Păun, founder of the environmental NGO Agent Green, said the issue was mismanagement, not overpopulation.

“The recurring tragedies on the Transfăgărășan road are the result of multiple failures: tourists stopping to interact with wild animals, local authorities not doing enough to drive bears back into the forest, and the national government – particularly the environmental ministry – failing to properly implement the national plan for coexistence between wildlife and humans,” he stated, as quoted by the BBC.

In 2024, Romania doubled the hunting quota for the brown bear to almost 500 following the deadly attack on a hiker in the Carpathians. After another severe attack in the mountain town of Predeal in March this year, former environment minister Mircea Fechet said that the annual quota for bear culling could be revised again.

However, environmental groups expressed serious concerns, arguing that hunting alone is not a sufficient solution to lower the number of bear attacks or sustainably manage the population. They have repeatedly said that the law passed last year could potentially open the door to trophy hunting, a practice that is in direct violation of EU legislation.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Fernbach Antal/Dreamstime.com)


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