- The woman and her companion had been walking in the Low Tatras mountain range
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A woman in her 30s has died after she and her friend were attacked by a bear in Slovakia.
The 31-year-old woman from Belarus had been walking with a male companion in the Low Tatras mountain range in Slovakia when they were chased by the bear.
According to her male companion, he and the woman fled in separate directions, into the surrounding dense forest and steep ravines.
Her body was discovered by the Slovak mountain rescue service on Friday night with the bear still nearby, which was scared off by gunshots from the rescue team.
According to BBC news, it is still unclear whether the woman fell to her death or was killed by the bear. The Slovak authorities have made it clear that if she was killed by the bear, they will make this information public.
A brown bear in a forest in Slovakia. Scientists estimate there are about 1,275 bears in Slovakia (stock image)
The Low Tatras mountain range in Slovakia. A 31-year-old woman from Belarus had been walking with a male companion in the Low Tatras mountain range in Slovakia when they were chased by a bear. Her body was discovered by the Slovak mountain rescue service on Friday evening
Bears are common across much of Eastern Europe in the areas surrounding the Carpathians, which stretch from Romania to Poland and pass through Slovakia. Scientists estimate that there are about 1,275 bears in Slovakia.
In recent years, there have been a number of bear attacks across Eastern Europe, including a fatal attack in Slovakia in 2021.
Last November, a German eco-activist captured the moment he was attacked by a bear after he accidentally wandered into the animal’s den in Poland’s Bieszczady Mountains.
The man was viciously attacked by the bear, but was later flown to hospital.
Meanwhile, in 2017, a cyclist was chased by a bear while cycling through forest in Malino Brdo, Slovakia. After apparently pursuing him for a few moments, the bear turns and slinks back into the trees.
Slovakia’s Environment Ministry said it will propose, along with Romania, at the next EU Council of Environment Ministers that bears be reclassified on the list of protected species because their numbers mean they are no longer threatened and can be selectively eradicated.