Hungry bears looking for food in Romania after long winter hibernation

The brown bears in Romania began looking for food after the winter hibernation, with the hungriest ones even leaving the forests and breaking into people’s households to find something to eat. At least two such cases were reported in the recent days. A hungry bear broke into several holiday homes in the village of Liban, Suseni commune, Harghita county, for four nights in a row. “The bear entered three houses in one night, and broke a house’s window in another night. It was a situation where he entered a cellar of a house, and there he found a bottle of sour cherry brandy. He opened it, drank it and ate the blueberries, and then fell asleep under the first spruce in the forest,” Benke József, the director of a hunting association, told local Mediafax. The houses’ owners reported to the Town Hall of Suseni the destruction of entrance doors, furniture and food supplies. Meanwhile, in the Colti commune in Buzau county, a bear broke into a local household in the night from Monday to Tuesday and took a 150-kg pig. Fortunately, although there were people around, no one was injured. It’s not unusual for bears to go out of the forests in search for food in Romania, especially in the periods before and after hibernation. The authorities recommend people not to get close to these animals in such cases, as they can become aggressive. Citizens are also advised to call the emergency number 112 in these cases. BBC video shows hungry bears looking for food in Romanian town Hungry bears leave the forests to look for food in Romanian towns Two bears spotted near popular ski slope in Romania Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com