Bear Attacks Across Europe and Asia Captured on Video Highlight Growing Human-Wildlife Conflicts

A surge of bear encounters captured on video this year across Europe and Asia has underscored mounting risks as large predators share habitats with expanding human activity. Reports describe hikers, drivers, motorcyclists and bystanders facing attacks or near-misses from brown bears, sloth bears, and polar bears, spanning Greece, Romania, India, Japan, Slovakia, Thailand and the Arctic.

In northern Greece this summer, a 61-year-old hiker identified as Christos Stavrianidis died after being charged at by a bear while trekking in the Fratko forest with a companion. The friend, Dimitris, survived and told investigators that the bear appeared to push Christos down a ravine as it advanced. A video circulating this week shows a large brown bear stepping onto the path and moving toward the hikers before the fall that proved fatal. The episode has shocked the country and renewed warnings about wildlife encounters in forested areas.

Across Europe and Asia, other documented incidents reflect a range of outcomes. In Romania, a driver escaped by leaping through a car window when a fierce bear attacked along a roadside on the Transfagarasan highway in the Carpathian Mountains. A separate report notes that a tourist in the same area was killed the week prior. In a different Romanian episode, Italian motorcyclist Omar Farang Zin, 49, was killed after a bear attacked him and dragged his body down a ravine while he rode through the Carpathians. Authorities said tourists had alerted them to the attack, and an hour-long search recovered the man’s body. Zin had previously posted bear sightings online, including a photo of a bear standing near him just before the incident.

In eastern India, a father-and-son outing ended in tragedy when a rabid sloth bear mauled Suklal Darro, 45, and his 22-year-old son Ajju Kureti as they collected firewood in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. A forest guard, Narayan Yadav, who intervened to help, was severely injured but survived. The attack was captured in a widely circulated video showing the bear charging toward the ranger as a bystander shouts for calm; the ranger later escaped with injuries, while the two men died from the mauling.

Japan has also recorded bear violence in recent years. A hiker in his 20s was killed on Mount Rausu in Hokkaido after a bear attacked and dragged him into the forest. The missing person report was filed August 14, and a day later the body was found and confirmed dead. Separately, a climber on Mount Futago in October 2022 used martial arts to defend himself against an enraged black bear that charged him on a rock face, stating he relied on karate and MMA training to fend off the animal, which he believes was defending its cub.

In the Arctic, a harrowing clip from the remote island of Svalbard showed a man running for his life as a polar bear pursued him. The bear, capable of speeds up to 25 mph, charged as residents reported ongoing concerns about bears approaching snowmobiles and homes. The man leapt onto a snowmobile and escaped as gunshots and alarms were used in attempts to deter the predator.

In Slovakia, a camera-trap video captured a bear charging a man who confronted the animal while walking with a dog. After the bear attacked, the man used bear spray and then struck the bear with a hatchet; the bear fled and the man, identified only as Peter, reported that he believed the encounter would have been more dangerous if he had not defended himself.

Thailand’s encounter story centers on Naiphum Promratee, 36, who narrowly escaped after a 250-kilogram bear dragged him into the enclosure of a temple wildlife area. He was mauled for about a minute before rescuers pulled him to safety and took him to hospital. Footage showed witnesses trying to deter the bear with poles and water as the attack unfolded.

Another high-profile incident occurred on a Romanian mountain road when a British tourist, Moira Gallacher, and her companion Charmian Widdowson drove past a mother bear with cubs. Gallacher’s arm was bitten as the animal clamped onto her limb after the window was lowered, prompting a rapid medical response once they reached safety.

In Italy, a 12-year-old boy who had studied what to do if he encountered a bear managed to stay calm as a large bear followed him during a hillside walk in Sudtirol in 2020. He continued to walk away slowly, and the bear ultimately left the area without injuring anyone.

Across these episodes, observers emphasize that bear encounters remain unpredictable and dangerous, underscoring the need for situational awareness, clear safety guidelines when in bear country, and respect for wildlife as human activity increasingly intersects with bear habitats. While some incidents result in fatal outcomes, others end with successful escapes or defensive actions that prevent harm. Authorities and wildlife experts continue to monitor trends, advise on precautionary measures, and assess the potential impact of changing environments on bear behavior and human safety.