Earlier this week, a report about a bear attack on a man in the Sučinska dolina valley in the Martin district appeared in the media. However, the attack has not yet been reported to the Administration of the Malá Fatra National Park (NP), where the attack is said to have occurred, nor has it been reported to the SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team either.

According to the University Hospital Martin, the attacked man suffered bite injuries to his leg and his condition is currently stable. Based on the information published by the media, the attack took place in the vicinity of the mountain chalet Vendovka at an unspecified location. The SNC SR intervention team will reconstruct the circumstances of the attack in cooperation with the national park administration, provided the victim consents to this.

The Malá Fatra National Park Administration states that movement in the national park outside the network of hiking trails is not allowed, and the hiking trail between Vendovka and Malý Kriváň is currently closed until 15 June due to the spring closure.

The SNC SR Intervention Team points out that there is an increased risk of bear encounters during this period, as bears come out of their dens in March and guiding female bears bring out their cubs, too. Moreover, March is also the month when hunters tend to search the dense forest stands more often to look for shed antlers. Illegal collectors also search for deer trophies. Therefore, the SNC SR urges all involved to be extra cautious and to comply with the provisions of the Act on Nature and Landscape Protection concerning the movement on hiking trails, with the Hunting Act when it comes to illegal antler collection, and not to expose themselves to unnecessary risk of an encounter with our largest carnivore in the forest terrain.

To minimise the risk of a bear encounter, the SNC SR Intervention Team recommends making your presence known acoustically (by whistling, singing, clapping, or using a bell) and always remaining on the hiking trails.

In this context, the SNC SR has also prepared a short educational film on how we should behave in a forest where large carnivores can occur, which has been released this month. The film is available on the SNC SR’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhlOtrGM6uk.

Further detailed information on how to act in case of a bear encounter are available on the SNC SR Brown Bear Intervention Team’s website: https://zasahovytim.sopsr.sk/.

This press release was prepared by the Department of Communication and Promotion of the State Nature Conservancy of the SR in cooperation with the Malá Fatra National Park Administration.