Four bears hit by car in Romania in less than a week

Four bears were hit by car in Romania in just a few days, with the most recent such incident occurring on Thursday evening, November 21, on the E60 road in the Gaiesti village in Mures county.

The animal was tranquilized and taken to the Zoo in Targu-Mures, according to local Mediafax. The car’s two passengers weren’t hurt but the vehicle was damaged.

Last Saturday, November 16, a similar incident occurred on the road between Praid and Sovata, in Harghita county. This accident, however, outraged the public opinion as the bear was left in agony on one side of the road for almost a day before being shot. Nobody in the car was injured but the bear had three of its legs broken and couldn’t move. The animal was shot and removed from the road only on Sunday, around noon.

Another bear died on Sunday evening after being hit by a car on the DN1 road, in the area of Bradu, in Sibiu county, local Digi24 reported. Then, on Monday evening, November 18, another bear was killed by a car in Mures county.

Separately, BBC has published on November 21 a story about the brown bear attacks in Romania, which raise “fears that the population of Europe's largest protected carnivore is increasing beyond control.” BBC reported that three men have been killed in Romania in little over a month, bringing to at least six the number of fatalities this year. By comparison, "11 people were killed by bears in Romania between 2000 and 2015," reads the article.

(Photo source: Pexels.com)**