Three bears that entered the urban area of the city of Miercurea Ciuc for several days were shot by authorities on Tuesday night.
The vice mayor of the city, Bors Bela, stated that intervention teams tried, unsuccessfully, to drive them away or capture them, and ultimately decided to shoot them, as they posed a real danger to people.
"In the last week, before Catholic Pentecost, but also after, three bears made our lives difficult in the Şumuleu area. Two nights ago, they entered the urban area of the city where there were several houses, and for six hours we tried, without success, to capture them. We finally managed to drive them away, but last night, around 8 p.m., we received another emergency call regarding the presence of the three bears on a street, near the Fodor house.
We went there together with the Police, Gendarmerie, Ambulance, and so on, and found the three bears there. They tried to enter a house, rummaged through the bins, searched for food, and refused to leave in any way, not even when the sirens were activated (…) So we called the Szilos Hunters Association, with whom we have a contract for such situations, and the veterinarian, and tried once again to drive the bears away, but they continued on another street, and when they reached the ski slope, they simply refused to leave (…)
Finally, after an action of over two hours, the committee decided to extract them. Even after the first shot, the other two bears did not leave, so the hunter had to shoot the second one, and then the third one," declared vice mayor Bors Bela.
They were three young bears, approximately three years old.
"They are three young bears, about three years old, who were separated from their mother 3-4 weeks ago. Unfortunately, they were raised in such a way that they get their food from bins, yards, or people's houses (…) Their mother raised them as beggars," added the vice mayor of Miercurea Ciuc.
Bors Bela also mentioned that it is not easy to make the decision to shoot an animal, but there are extreme situations, like this one, where there is no other option.
According to the vice mayor, the number of bears has significantly increased recently, and local residents receive daily alert messages regarding their presence in the urban area.