The rampaging bear that terrorized the Slovak city and mauled five in viral videos has been shot after a 10-day drone hunt for the rampaging beast
A rampaging brown bear that terrorized a Slovak town and attacked five has been shot dead in a local forest after a 10-day drone hunt for the beast.
Liptovský Mikuláš today revoked the emergency it declared on March 17, after ‘eliminating’ the predator at 9:50 pm last night.
According to Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba, a drone with biometric technology was used during the ten-day hunt that ultimately led to the bear’s identification.
Local police, together with members of the nature conservation service, had scoured the surrounding forest and residential area in search of the ferocious animal that entered the city from the Western Tatras two weeks ago.
Following the rampage, a 49-year-old woman suffered an injury to her shoulder, while a 72-year-old man was treated for a cut to his head after the pair were attacked.
The brown bear that wreaked havoc on the streets of Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, was shot on Tuesday, officials confirmed today
The bear left five people, including a 10-year-old girl, injured after it went on a rampage
In Liptovský Mikuláš, a sign was posted warning residents to stay out of the area as officials prepared to use firearms to capture the bear
A 10-year-old girl also became a target for the bear last week after suffering scratches and bruises from an attack, authorities said.
Terrifying footage circulating online showed the beast running through public streets and jumping past cars as city residents fled the animal.
The bear made its first attacks on Podtatranského and Československá brigada streets before moving to a nearby shopping center.
Video footage showed the bear on the dual carriageway from Rachmaninka to Nábrežie, where it injured other people.
The predator then swam across the Váh River before rescue and security forces drove it into the forest between Iľanova and Závažná Poruba.
Since then, several patrols have continuously searched for the bear day and night until its elimination took place.
The fatal shooting comes after some residents begged officials to have compassion for the animal.
On Facebook, someone wrote: ‘This young bear, who accidentally entered the city, is terrified because he has entered an unknown area… after this experience he will definitely not go back to the city… there is no point in taking a young bear out of his life ….. let him live for him’.
Another added: ‘There’s no reason to kill the bear! He has the right to live, there are other ways to ensure safety! Murderers will pay for killing, you must remember this rule’.
Residents were asked by the city not to leave their homes, especially in the early and late hours, as six patrol groups made up of armed hunters, police officers and wildlife experts scoured the city in search of the bear.
On March 19, a sign was placed along the old road area between Iľanova and Závažná Poruba, warning residents that they would “endanger their lives” if they left their homes while the hunt was taking place.
“The road is temporarily closed and there is a danger to life due to the bear hunt,” the sign said.
“In case of disobedience, people will be exposed to a great risk of endangering their lives.”
The Slovakia news server reality.sk estimates that the bear is a three-year-old weighing about 11st.
Drones with biometric technology were used by officials during the 10-day hunt for the bear before it was eliminated
Footage captured the bear swimming across the Váh River
One woman told a local newspaper that she was traumatized by the wave of attacks.
Some members of Slovakia’s populist nationalist government said the incident proved the need to relax EU environmental protections for wildlife so that animals such as bears and wolves are not hunted.
“This is a case where a bear brutally attacked people. One person almost lost an eye,” Rudolf Huliak, MP from the right-wing Slovak National Party – which is in charge of the Environment Ministry – told local media immediately after the incident.
Huliak called for “a firm solution to the excessive number of bears.”
The Slovak Environment Ministry said it will, together with Romania, propose at the next European Council of Environment Ministers to relist bears as protected species, as their numbers mean they are no longer endangered and can be selectively culled .
Bears are common in many parts of Eastern Europe, including the areas around the Carpathians, which stretch from Romania to Poland and pass through Slovakia.
Researchers estimate that there are about 3,000 bears in Sweden, 2,000 in Finland, 1,100 in Estonia and about 100 in Norway – with the largest population of brown bears in Europe being in Russia.
They also estimate that there are about 1,275 bears in Slovakia.