Bear scare: Slovak man survives harrowing attack while foraging
A 67-year-old man living in the western part of Slovakia experienced an unexpected encounter while mushroom picking. He was attacked by a bear that sprang at him from the underbrush.
The man, from Prievidza, was gathering mushrooms in the woods near Kanionka in western Slovakia. At some point, a bear lunged at him from the tall grass.
"It knocked me to the ground, grabbed me by the arm, first one and then the other, and bit off the basket I had on my back, which probably saved my life," the 67-year-old shared in an interview with local media.
This was his third encounter with a bear in his life. He noted, "They mostly attack if you surprise them. I startled today's bear, but I had no idea it was there," he explained.
He added that he later realized two smaller bears accompanied the bear. It was likely a female with cubs.
Once the bear ended the attack and moved away, the man managed to get up and tried to head in the opposite direction. He walked about 1.5 kilometres, but bloodied and in pain, he couldn’t continue. The bear had bitten him on both his arms and legs.
He received 50 stitches
"My thigh was bleeding, and I couldn't bandage it because my arms and shoulder hurt. So I called my wife, and she called 911," he recounted.
Rescuers dispatched a helicopter to the scene. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors gave him 50 stitches. He had numerous wounds from the claws and teeth.
This is yet another brown bear attack in Slovakia recently. At the beginning of October, the animal fatally injured a 63-year-old mushroom picker near Liptovský Mikuláš.
Slovakia's Environment Minister Tomasz Taraba believes that bear attacks are linked, among other factors, to the growing population of the species. However, scientific studies do not confirm this upward trend.
Source: PAP, ta3.com, myhornanitra.sme.sk
