“The bear was forced by rescue and security forces into uninhabited zones, where emergency teams are searching for it. The safety of residents in residential areas is therefore ensured, but we ask for increased caution,” the city said following the meeting of the crisis team.
On Sunday, the bear roamed the streets of the city and attacked people. “After five people, ranging in age from 10 to 72, were injured, emergency crews were ordered to remove the bear,” the city said in a statement.
The city emphasized that this is an unprecedented attack by a bear right in the city. “We cannot allow a bear to attack five people in the city center in broad daylight. To protect residents, hunters will be patrolling the risk area, police patrols have been strengthened, and all brown bear intervention teams from all over Slovakia have been deployed to our city and its surroundings. A drone with thermal imaging has also been added,” the city said.
The bear attacked in the streets of Liptovský Mikuláš. People share footage
Europe
‼️ The city of Liptovský Mikuláš declares a state of emergency‼️ due to the presence of a brown bear and asks residents not to move outside residential areas, especially in the morning and evening. The bear was pushed by the rescue and security forces into uninhabited zones, where emergency teams are continuously searching for it, the safety of residents in residential zones is therefore ensured, but we ask for increased caution. After five people between the ages of 10 and 72 were injured, emergency teams were instructed to eliminate the bear. We will gradually publish videos with statements from individual components of the crisis team. #emergency situation
Posted by The city of Liptovský Mikuláš on Sunday, March 17, 2024
The Deputy Minister of the Environment Filip Kuffa (Slovak National Party) confirmed following the meeting of the crisis staff that he would present a draft law that would allow the elimination of bears even outside the inner city of cities and municipalities.
“The problem is the whole bear population, which is too high,” he noted. According to him, the beasts have also changed their behavior. “We’ve never seen bears attack humans to this extent,” Kuffa said.
Together with Romania, Slovakia wants to put pressure on the European Commission to give the bear a lower protection status within the European Union.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Agriculture and the Environment Rudolf Huliak (Slovak National Party) said that one person almost lost an eye during a bear attack in Liptovský Mikuláš. “It is no longer time to deal with synanthropic (living in close proximity to humans – editor’s note) bears by scaring them off and endlessly testing the patience of citizens,” said Huliak.
The bear attacked already on Friday on the western side of the nearby Demänovská valley in the Low Tatras. He chased two people, a 31-year-old woman died during the escape, apparently following falling from a rock.
It is not clear whether this is the same individual who attacked people in Liptovský Mikuláš.
Bear attack in Slovakia: The victim is a 31-year-old Belarusian. She apparently fell off a rock while running
Foreign
