Bear attack in the Bieszczady Mountains. There are photos from the camera trap

On Sunday, November 12, a bear attacked two people in the Bieszczady Mountains. According to Polsat News, they were activists from the Wild Carpathians Initiative. One of the men suffered serious head, back and leg injuries. He was taken to hospital and his condition is said to be serious but stable. The other one was fine.

Bear attack on activists. Statement of the Wild Carpathians Initiative

“The incident occurred in the Lutowiska Forest District. The bear’s presence surprised activists. They did not notice the animal early enough, they did not have a chance to react to its warning signals and, in accordance with the rules, withdraw at the right moment, and they did not take precautions while walking. They visited the division where this summer we discovered logging taking place near the bear’s lair,” the Wild Carpathians Initiative reported in a post on Facebook.

“We immediately reported this fact to both the Lutowiska Forest District and the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection, requesting the establishment of a protection zone. Unfortunately, since then, despite requests to participate in the proceedings, we have not received any information about the steps taken – neither from the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection nor from foresters (despite numerous opportunities to do so), except for a general notification about the initiation of the proceedings,” we read further. According to the Wild Carpathians Initiative, due to “very bad experience regarding previous notifications and even destruction of established zones”, activists decided to check the status of the separation in the field.

Bear attack in the Bieszczady Mountains. There are photos from a camera trap

It was also reported that the activists felt bad about the situation because, although they acted with good intentions, they disturbed the bear’s peace. “It shouldn’t have happened, especially during the preparations for the den. The bear behaved in a textbook, typical way, in its own territory, a desolate area near the den, surprised and, feeling threatened, demonstrated its strength and dominance. We regret that this incident occurred. This time we made a mistake. We are sorry, above all, for the bear whose peace and sense of security were taken away,” we read further.

The moment of the bear attack was captured by a camera trap. The photos were published by the spokesman of the State Forests. “A camera trap captured a bear attacking an eco-activist. He wanted to prove that the lair was empty because foresters had destroyed his habitat. Quite an irony of fate – pseudo-ecologists were attacking foresters, GOPR and policemen, and now these people are saving their lives. Will there be a Darwin Award? – Michał Gzowski asked on the X website (formerly Twitter).