Dog walker turns around to find brown bear behind her on European city street

The bear was walking just metres behind the woman

It is a scene that would fill any city dweller with horror.

A woman walking her dog late at night in the centre of the Romanian town of Brasov was surprised to turn around and find a wild brown bear just metres behind her. Her dog, on spotting the bear, began to run, dragging his owner behind him. The bear continued to trot, unperturbed, along the street.

The incident was captured on video and shared on social media. City authorities subsequently captured the bear and “resettled” it in the wild.

It is believed there are around 7,500 to 8,000 bears roaming Romanian forests. In the Transylvanian city of Brașov, where the forest stops at the edge of the city, it is not uncommon to spot a bear that has strayed into the outskirts of the town. However, it is unusual for one to venture as far as the city centre.

According to Sorin Toarcea, a spokesperson for Brașov City Hall, 17 bears have been captured and removed from the city over the past three years.

He said: "On the night of Sunday to Monday, around 2:30 am, a three-year-old bear was captured in the Aleea de Sub Tâmpa, at the Weavers' Bastion. After capture, he was transported to the resettlement area. Since 2021, since the municipality took over the activity of removing bears from the city, 17 bears have been captured and relocated.”

In 2016, Romania banned the trophy hunting of large carnivores, such as bears and wolves. However, annual exceptions are granted for the sake of controlling the population amid a rise in the number of bear attacks in the country.

Romania has Europe's highest number of brown bears. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

From 2016 to 2021, Romania recorded 154 bear attacks, which resulted in 14 deaths and 158 injuries, according to figures from Romania's environment ministry.

In April, the government proposed to triple the number of bears to be culled each year in an effort to control the “overpopulation” of the species, in a move that could see as many as 426 bears shot and killed, up from 140 last year. The move sparked opposition from environmental groups. Bears are protected under the European Union’s habitats directive.

Environment minister Barna Tanczos defended the proposal, saying it was necessary “to protect human life”.