Both incidents involving Slovakian brown bears occurred in the Liptov region, at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. In the same region, another bear injured five people in a residential neighborhood of a small town in mid-March. That bear was tracked down and shot dead just over a week later.
On Sunday afternoon, a hiker was walking with his wife and dog on a trail near the village of Pribylina when the bear suddenly attacked the man, injuring his legs. After the incident, the couple fled to a nearby mountain hut and waited for the regional bear team from the forestry service to arrive.
On Saturday, a Slovak mushroom picker came across a bear in the dense underbrush of a mountain forest near the village of Stranavy, which then attacked him. The man shot the animal with his pistol, wounding the bear. He himself was unharmed.
The bear team called for assistance, which was also alerted in this case, feared the wounded bear might be dangerous to others. Therefore, the team searched the forest area together with hunters. The bear attacked one of the hunters there as well. When that hunter also fired a shot, the animal fled into the dense forest. Authorities have issued a warning to avoid the forest area.
According to official counts, there are approximately 1,100 to 1,200 wild brown bears living in Slovakia.
In Austria, licenses to shoot two wolves expired last weekend near the Czech border. The wolves had come too close to people last month and barely allowed themselves to be driven away at the time. However, since then no sightings have been reported, and the shooting permits expired after four weeks.
The deadline for photographing the other wolf that came within 50 meters of a family in early March also passed last Saturday afternoon. That animal has not been seen in the area since the dangerous incident.
And in Mitwitz, Germany, near the Czech border, a lost wild boar in a panic caused chaos on the terrace of a busy restaurant. The animal ran through a glass door, injuring itself in the process, and knocked over a 64-year-old visitor who was also injured. Furniture inside the restaurant was also damaged. The animal's blood was scattered in various places, but the wild boar eventually found its way outside.
Another wild boar was injured when it ran into the garden fence of a neighboring property. The house wall was likewise smeared with blood. The subsequent search for the animals by police and hunters was unsuccessful. The material damage caused on the terrace and in the restaurant is estimated at around 15,000 euros in total.