“The bear ate Kolyo, now it’s our turn because nobody wants to do anything,” fumed Sasho Kolev, 80, after the recent killing of a man in the remote Bulgarian village of Kutela by a protected brown bear.
“They love bears, these city people, they don’t care about us villagers,” he said, complaining about local authorities and environmentalists who would not allow a cull of the bear population.
Bulgaria is home to between 600 and 800 brown bears, one of the largest populations in Europe, according to environmentalists, while hunting unions put the numbers at about 1,000.
PHOTO: AFP
As a protected species, the brown bear is banned from being hunted unless a special permit is obtained from the authorities. Bulgarian bears are rarely aggressive and would rather run away from people than attack, experts say.
However, the killing in mid-May of Nikola Shikov, a 65-year-old villager who knew his way around the woods, plunged Kutela, perched on the steep slopes of the country’s southern Rhodope mountains, into panic.
Shikov was found dead in the forest just 500m from the tiny community of 400 residents, with multiple fractures and wounds, his face horribly disfigured.
Fears were fueled by two more attacks this week in the region, though neither was fatal — yet. Galina Ivanova, 64, however, was fighting for her life with multiple injures after a bear lunged at her on Wednesday while she was picking mushrooms near the village of Malka Arda, just east of Kutela, regional officials said. They said the bear stripped the skin off the back of her head and clawed at her entire body before Ivanova’s sister managed to scare off the beast by shouting and throwing rocks.
The day before, 56-year-old Boyan Dimitrov had a close call also picking mushrooms near the village of Borovina, in the same region. The Focus news agency, quoting the local mayor, said a bear struck Dimitrov, but the blow sent him rolling down a steep gully, which saved his life.
In Kutela and nearby villages, where people’s livelihood is often limited to logging, raising cows and picking herbs and mushrooms, locals told reporters they were now scared to go into the forest.
“We’re not against bears being a protected species, but they are breeding like crazy and this has to be regulated in some way,” said 36-year-old Biser, a Kutela villager who gave only his first name, but said his mother was once chased by a bear.
The authorities’ greenlight to shoot the bear that attacked Shikov will not solve the problem, he said. And with the further attacks, authorities now question whether the animal that was killed was indeed the “killer” bear.
In Smolyan district, 150 bears roam the forests and regularly attack beehives and livestock, said Elen Minchev, the chief of the regional environment inspection agency.
The killing in Kutela was the first in decades however, he said.
Local authorities and environmentalists say there has been no recent boom in the bear population.
However, they have now joined forces to appease the worried villagers, instructing them on how to avoid accidents, protect their herds and beehives, apply for compensation and even attract tourists.
“Much of the damage can ... be avoided if only people remember to make an effort to protect their livestock in bear-populated regions — keep shepherd dogs, build fences and never leave their herds unattended,” Diana Zlatanova from the Balkani wildlife society said.
Brochures advising how to avoid encounters with bears and what to do in the event of one will also be distributed in high-risk areas over the coming months. A joint project by Balkani and the environment ministry is already distributing free electric fences to beekeepers in Smolyan and the nearby town of Devin.
Vasil Chavdarov from the tiny village of Breze told reporters he was “calmer” now that his beehives were equipped with an electric fence, although he still spoke of the bears with awe.
“I used to sleep here every night for two months, kept a fire and packs of firecrackers to scare the bears away,” said the 78-year-old, who had nine beehives wrecked by bears in four separate attacks over the past years. “I am happy that the bear does not come to do mischief any more.”
“It gives me chills only to mention its name, I cannot imagine meeting it face to face in the forest,” he said.
Meanwhile, local hunters were taking another approach and trying to convince reluctant locals that they could cash in on the bears and boost tourism. Much to the dismay of the locals, the hunters were already advertising pricey observation tours of bears, wild boars, deer and other animals.
However, it will take time to overcome the tension over bears, following the Kutela killing.
“We entertain no illusions that we can defuse the tensions with brochures, especially in regions where people feel threatened,” said Svetlana Alajem, manager of an educational project about bears. “But it is a step in the right direction.”
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,
French singer Kendji Girac, who was seriously injured by a gunshot this week, wanted to “fake” his suicide to scare his partner who was threatening to leave him, prosecutors said on Thursday. The 27-year-old former winner of France’s version of The Voice was found wounded after police were called to a traveler camp in Biscarrosse on France’s southwestern coast. Girac told first responders he had accidentally shot himself while tinkering with a Colt .45 automatic pistol he had bought at a junk shop, a source said. On Thursday, regional prosecutor Olivier Janson said, citing the singer, that he wanted to “fake” his suicide
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his pledge to replace India’s religion-based marriage and inheritance laws with a uniform civil code if he returns to office for a third term, a move that some minority groups have opposed. In an interview with the Times of India listing his agenda, Modi said his government would push for making the code a reality. “It is clear that separate laws for communities are detrimental to the health of society,” he said in the interview published yesterday. “We cannot be a nation where one community is progressing with the support of the Constitution while the other