A 39-year-old man who went on a run in the Romanian mountains has died after he was apparently mauled to death by a bear, police said.
The man’s father alerted police Monday morning after his son failed to return home on Sunday evening.
Dozens of mountain rescue workers took dogs and searched the Azuga area in the Carpathians all day Monday. They found his body on Monday evening.
The unnamed man appeared to have been attacked by a bear which caused his death, Prahova county police said in a statement carried by Agerpres news agency.
“Initial evidence shows the man was attacked by a wild animal, most likely a bear, “the statement said. An autopsy will be carried out.
Romania is home to an estimated 6,000 brown bears. Bear hunting was banned in 2016, a move praise by environmental groups and animal rights activists.
Most bears are in the Transylvania region. They sometimes descend onto farms, villages and towns in search of food.
In 2019, six people were killed by bears in Romania, with scores of non-fatal attacks also reported. It was the worst year for fatalities this century.
