A bear that chased skiers downhill at a mountain resort in central Romania is creating havoc in his new home, a mayor has claimed.
The brown bear that was in the spotlight in January after he was filmed chasing a skier in Predeal, a popular mountain resort in central Romania has now destroyed beehives in his new home more than 400 kilometers away.
The bear can be seen bounding across the snow chasing a skier in a video in late January.
Chairlift riders yell out to the skier, who later threw his backpack on the ground, and distracted the bear for long enough to allow the man to escape.
Nobody was injured, but the incident made headlines in Romania and the bear was subsequently moved to Finis, in northwest Romania, where it has continued to cause trouble.
Mayor Ioan Florian Man on Tuesday appealed to Environment Minister Tanczos Barna to stop relocating bears and find an alternative solution such as a bear park.
The mayor said the animal has destroyed beehives.
Bears are very attracted to honey and bee brood, and may suddenly decide a hive is worth visiting if they can’t find adequate food during a lean season.
The woody area doesn’t have a local bear population, the mayor said.
“Our problem is we don’t know how many bears brought here, nobody tells us they are here because they are brought at night and they just leave. Nobody warns us: ‘We’ve brought bears here,’ protect yourselves,” mayor Ioan Florian Man said.
„Could the minister please first ask the mayor? The problem is being moved from one place to another. After this bear chased skiers in the Brasov area, you’d have to be crazy to relocate it to another county,” he said.
“Let’s find the right solution, and make a park or something.” The mayor told Agerpres news agency.
The mayor said that bears were unheard of in the local area, and local residents would pick mushrooms and forest fruits in the woods nearby without being worried about nears.
„We never had problems….. but now bears have caused damage; two families have had their beehives destroyed….. Two weeks after it was relocated, it came down into the village from the mountains. I don’t know who brought it here, it’s not its habitat,” he said.
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.
However, farmers in central Romania say bears are responsible for attacks on livestock and hunting should be allowed.
Most bears are in the Transylvania region. They sometimes descend onto farms, villages and towns in search of food, including from rubbish bins and containers, or be fed by curious tourists.
