A forest trail or mountains on the weekend is a usual thing for those who live in the Turiec region (region). Last weekend, it turned into two bear attacks on people in two consecutive days.
On Sunday, August 9, around 5:00 PM, in the cadastral territory of the municipality Turany (municipality), near the exit from highway D1 (section Turany – Trusalová), a female bear with two cubs attacked a 42-year-old man. Despite severe torn and bite wounds, he managed to get to the highway by himself, where help was called. Diagnosed with polytrauma — head and chest injuries — he was taken to the University Hospital in Martin.
The female bear and cubs were eliminated
Police patrols and the Zásahový tím pre medveďa hnedého (brown bear response team) arrived at the scene. Together with the volunteer fire brigade from Sučany, they used two drones with thermal imagers — these helped quickly find the animals in the difficult terrain near the highway. That same evening, the female bear and both cubs were shot. This was reported by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Filip Kuffa, here.
The female bear was an old animal: estimated age 18 years, weight 136 kg, teeth extremely worn, which could have made it difficult for her to find natural food. The cubs weighed 23 and 25 kg, writes Aktuality.sk.
Second attack in the region over the weekend
The day before, on Saturday, August 8, in Valčianska dolina (Valčianska valley), a bear attacked a 55-year-old cyclist. The man with severe injuries and open wounds was also hospitalized in Martin, where he underwent emergency surgery. As SITA notes, only a little more than a day passed between the two attacks, and both happened on different sides of Turčianska kotlina (Turčianska basin).
If you live near Martin, Turany (municipalities), or regularly ride a bike on forest routes in the region, be more careful: a lone female bear with cubs is the most dangerous encounter scenario in the forest. In case of danger, call the single emergency number 112; a full list of important phone numbers in Slovakia is collected separately.
