Romania's recent decision to cull nearly 500 bears in 2024 has sparked heated debate and drawn international attention. The move comes in response to a tragic incident where a 19-year-old hiker, Maria Diana, was fatally attacked by a bear while hiking in the picturesque Carpathian Mountains with her boyfriend. The attack, which shocked the nation, prompted Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to call an emergency session of parliament, interrupting their summer recess.
Sabin Corniou, head of Romania's mountain rescue services, recounted the harrowing details of the attack to CNN's Antena 3, describing how the bear dragged Maria Diana off the trail and into dense vegetation before ultimately killing her. Tragically, the bear was subsequently shot dead by rescuers when it attempted to attack them during the rescue operation.
Romania, boasting Europe's largest brown bear population outside Russia, faces an ongoing challenge with bear-human encounters. Over the past two decades, bears have been responsible for the deaths of 26 people and serious injuries to 274 others. This grim statistic underscores the urgency felt by lawmakers to address what they perceive as an "overpopulation" of bears, believed to be a contributing factor to the rise in attacks.
In response to public outcry and pressure to act decisively, Romania's parliament swiftly passed legislation authorizing the culling of 481 bears in 2024—a significant increase from the 220 bears culled the previous year. Supporters of the measure argue that reducing the bear population is necessary to mitigate future attacks, although critics, including environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), assert that culling alone is ineffective and fails to address underlying issues.
Calin Ardelean, a biologist with WWF Romania, criticized the government's approach, emphasizing that sustainable solutions should prioritize prevention and intervention rather than large-scale culling. Ardelean advocates for strategies such as better waste management and discouraging bear feeding to minimize human-bear conflicts. According to WWF Romania, the surge in bear-related emergency calls—more than doubling from the previous year to 7,500 in 2023—underscores the need for comprehensive, community-focused wildlife management strategies.
The debate surrounding Romania's bear population mirrors similar concerns in neighboring Slovakia, where bear sightings have also surged in recent years. In a tragic incident reminiscent of Maria Diana's death, a woman in Slovakia lost her life while being pursued by a bear through dense forests and rugged terrain. Wildlife researchers highlight Slovakia as having the second-highest concentration of bears in Europe, trailing only Romania in terms of bear prevalence.
While both countries grapple with balancing conservation efforts and public safety, the emotional and practical complexities of managing large carnivore populations underscore the broader challenges faced by wildlife management authorities across Europe. The incidents in Romania and Slovakia serve as poignant reminders of the delicate equilibrium between human activities and the natural habitats of these formidable yet vulnerable species.
As Romania implements its controversial bear culling strategy, the global conservation community watches closely, weighing the outcomes and lessons learned. The fate of the Carpathian bears hinges not only on legislative decisions but also on sustained efforts to foster coexistence between humans and wildlife in one of Europe's most biodiverse regions.
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