Slovakia: Man attacked by bear succumbs to injuries

A 55-year-old man died in Slovakia after a bear attacked him while he was picking mushrooms in a forest, emergency services said on Saturday.

The incident took place in a remote area near Hybe, a town near the High Tatra mountains where the man was picking mushrooms along with another person.

A team of rescuers was able to locate the injured man in difficult terrain and flew to the site of the incident in a rescue helicopter upon receiving information about the bear attack.

Man succumbs to injuries

"The bear, however, struck one of the major arteries of the man's lower extremities during the attack, leading to severe bleeding and cardiac arrest," the rescue workers' report stated.

"Unfortunately (the) man succumbed to injuries despite the efforts of rescuers," emergency services said in a post on Facebook.

This is the second incident in recent years where a brown bear has fatally injured a person in Slovakia. A similar attack was last reported in 2021.

The population of brown bears stands at an estimated 1,300. The bears mostly live in dense forests but in light of the rising threat they pose to human life, the Slovakian government has legalised culling of bears.

mfi/kb (dpa, Reuters)