Bear attacks Bulgarian tourist in Romania after roadside feeding

A bear attacked a Bulgarian tourist in Romania after he and a group of companions stopped to feed the animal by the roadside in the Southern Carpathians, BTA reported. 

The incident took place on a mountain road near the Vidraru dam. Video footage filmed both by witnesses in a nearby car and by the tourists themselves showed the group laughing and feeding a bear accompanied by a cub. Moments later, the animal suddenly lunged toward the vehicle and attacked a 46-year-old man through the open window.

The injured tourist was identified by Nova Television as Georgi Bizhev from Gorna Oryahovitsa, chairman of the Sports and Technical Commission at the Veliko Tarnovo regional council of the Bulgarian Football Union and a former president of football club Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa.

Bizhev suffered bite wounds to his left arm and underwent emergency surgery, according to the report.

Romanian authorities impose fines ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 lei for feeding bears. Encounters involving bears are common in Romania, where tourists are repeatedly warned not to feed the animals along roadsides. Last summer, a motorcyclist was killed by a bear near a warning sign prohibiting the feeding of wildlife.

Editor: Ivo Ivanov