A mother bear with three cubs broke into the garage of the mayor of Tusnádfürdő (Băile Tușnad in Romanian), Zsolt Butyka, on Monday night, causing serious damage. The wild animal broke down the glass door to the garage, looking for food, Hungarian newspaper Székelyhon reports. During the Orthodox Pentecostal weekend, the authorities received 18 calls reporting bears in Hargita (Harghita) County alone, most of them from Tusnádfürdő, while in the last four days, three people were attacked by the big game.
As the mayor of Tusnádfürdő said after the attack, they did not hear anything during the night and only realized the situation in the morning. The mayor learned exactly what had happened from surveillance camera footage. As Zsolt Butyka told Agerpres, the bears damaged everything they found in the garage and even tried to open a freezer looking for food. As the mayor said, they are working on the solution and are trying to receive approval to move the animals back to the wilderness. Bears breaking into homes, guesthouses and restaurants is not unusual in Tusnádfürdő — it has happened 35 times before.
Over the Orthodox Pentecostal Weekend, from last Friday to this Monday, the gendarmerie and police from Hargita County were alerted 18 times because of bears. Most of the calls received announced bears wandering in Tusnádfürdő, Székelyhon quotes the press office of the county gendarmerie.
People primarily called in about bears roaming in inhabited areas; however, a mother bear with a cub broke into the kitchen of a guesthouse in Tusnádfürdő on Sunday night. The authorities received the call about this incident right after midnight and rushed to the scene, then driving the big game away. Just a couple of hours later, the authorities received another call from the same guesthouse, reporting that a cub had entered the building again in search of food. The gendarmerie scared the animal away, again.
On Monday, the authorities were alerted six times because of bears; five of the alerts also came from Tusnádfürdő. Intervention by gendarmes was necessary three times: A large animal attempted to enter a local club, and two others were looking for food on the street, endangering by-passers. The gendarmes drove the animals away each time.
Monday evening wasn’t uneventful either: A woman asked the authorities for help when a group of tourists couldn’t get to their accommodation because a large bear was wandering in the street of the spa town. The gendarmerie safely escorted the group to their accommodation and drove the bear out of the residential area.
Due to the increase of bears in inhabited areas and bear attacks, Minister of the Environment, Water and Forestry Barna Tánczos announced that they are working on a draft law that would allow for the immediate removal of dangerous animals. The intervention is necessary because in just four days, three people were attacked by bears, just in Hargita County.
Title image: A mother bear with three of her cubs broke down the glass door to the garage, caused serious damage and even tried to open a freezer while looking for food. Photo: Tusnádfürdő 2020-2024 Facebook page
