In Slovakia, several bear attacks have raised concerns among the population, with farmers calling for permission to hunt these protected animals. However, the government remains divided on how to proceed with the bear situation.
“Bear Attacks and Their Consequences”
A jogger from Liptovsky Hradok in central Slovakia, while barely conscious, managed to crawl to a nearby road where he was discovered by a bus driver. He was taken to the hospital with bite wounds, as stated by the state nature conservation authority. The region where this incident occurred, known as “Fatraland,” attracts tourists due to its mountainous and forested landscape. Additionally, an enforcement team from the authority had to kill an aggressive bear near the base of this mountain range. The bear had lost its natural fear and approached the town hall, a bus stop, and a kindergarten, possibly a so-called “container bear.”
The Human Factor and Bear Encounters
According to environmentalist and documentary filmmaker Erik Baláž, “These are bears that have become accustomed to human food. Such bears can attack humans. Or they end up being shot.” He points out that humans are responsible for these situations because they started feeding bears or allowed them access to their waste, causing the bears to become accustomed to human food. Thus, humans are also responsible for their demise.
Balaz explains that bears and humans usually avoid each other. Instead of talking about problem bears, he believes there are problem humans at play: “Bears are essentially very shy animals. Many people have likely encountered a bear without even realizing it.” Bears typically run away when they sense a human, even before the human has a chance to perceive them.
Farmer’s Protest Triggered by an Attack
However, this realization did not help the jogger, nor did it help a man who encountered a bear in Sucany, in the north of Slovakia, and shot it ten times before it died. Authorities are now searching for the bear’s cubs, and they are also investigating another incident where a forest worker shot at a bear.
This situation has instilled fear in the local population. If it were up to representatives of Slovak farmers, hunting of brown bears would be promptly allowed. They argue that the bear population has multiplied to the point where there is an excessive number, as stated by Emil Macho, the chairman of the Slovak Chamber of Agriculture. “No day goes by without reports of bears being killed in traffic accidents or bear attacks. No day passes without seeing new photos on social media of encounters with bears.”
The specific trigger for the farmer’s protest was an attack on a young farmer in the village of Háj in Turcianske Teplice, also located in central Slovakia. The bear unexpectedly appeared before him while he was leading horses to the pasture, as described by Christian Sedlacko, a 20-year-old involved in the incident. “It turned around, stood on its hind legs, jumped at me, bit me, and injured me with its claws.”
Environmental Minister Rejects Mass Hunting
The Slovak government is divided on how to proceed with the bears. The Ministry of Agriculture of the current expert government claims that there are too many bears, while Environment Minister Milan Chrenko denies this. The bear population of approximately 1300 in the country has remained relatively stable in recent years. Additionally, hunting them down is not a simple solution. “More shootings or mass hunting, as it has been done in the past, are not possible due to national and European laws,” says Chrenko.
Brown bears and their habitats are particularly protected. The implementation of lockable garbage bins is intended to prevent attracting bears to settlements. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment and local authorities plan to enhance their bear patrolling services and increase cooperation in bear sightings.
