World News

Tourist clawed by bear on Romanian road after stopping for photo

A Scottish tourist was clawed by a bear after it climbed into her car window on a Romanian highway Monday — but still managed to snag a shot of the not-so-friendly fur ball before it slashed her arm.

The woman, 72, was cruising with a friend along the winding Transfăgărășan Highway in the Carpathian Mountains when they spotted a pair of brown bears clambering along the side of the road.

She rolled down her window to take a photo of the cuties — when one reared up on its hind legs, stuck its snout through the opening, and took a swipe at her.

The unidentified Scottish tourist was clawed at by a bear after it climbed into her car window on a Romanian highway Monday. Jam Press

“I just wanted to take a picture of him,” the woman told local reporters from a hospital bed, according to the Mirror, adding that her arm was sore from the attack.

“We were in the car and we were going to take a picture. And the bears came up to the window.”

Her friend managed to drive off before the bear could do any further damage.

The tourist was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Mirror.

Romania has experienced a spate of frightening encounters between bears and humans in recent years, leading to the issue becoming a hot-button topic in the country.

The 72-year-old rolled down her window to take a photo of the cuties — when one reared up on its hind legs, stuck its snout through the opening, and took a swipe at her. Jam Press
The tourist was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Jam Press

The country has up to 8,000 brown bears living in its borders, which is more than any other European country aside from Russia, according to Politico.

Over five years from 2016 to 2021, there were 154 bear attacks against humans resulting in 14 fatalities, the outlet reported.

It has become such a problem that some political hopefuls have added initiatives to increase hunting quotas to their tickets.