A few meters from the front door Bear in Croatia bites walker in the arms

A bear has attacked a walker in the Croatian Plitvice Lakes National Park, 130 kilometers southwest of Zagreb, and injured him with bites to the arms. The 64-year-old man, a local resident, was taken to the hospital in the district capital of Gospic, Croatian television HRT reported on its website. Doctors described his injuries as not serious.

The incident had already occurred late on Friday evening. He was walking about 800 meters from his house, the man who was attacked said, according to HRT. The animal had approached him from a pasture, knocked him over, bitten him and then ran away again. The Plitvice Lakes National Park, with its picturesque waterfalls connecting the 16 lakes, is a popular tourist destination.

Around 1000 brown bears live in the wild in Croatia. Croatian wildlife protection tries to keep conflicts between bears and humans to a minimum through measures such as monitoring, public relations work, bear-proof garbage cans and regulation of the population through shooting. It is therefore rare for bears to attack humans in Croatia.

SDA