In Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park, a bear attacked a man and bit him on the arm. The injured man was taken to hospital.
A bear attacked a man in the tourist area of Plitvice Lakes National Park in northern Croatia, local police said. The incident occurred on Friday evening in the village where the 64-year-old man lives. He was taken to hospital in the neighboring town of Gospić with a bitten hand and scratches on his face.
– I was walking towards the house and suddenly, maybe 300 meters away, a bear ran out from behind a tree and headed towards me. I screamed, but it didn't scare it. It fell on me and knocked me to the ground – the man told Nova TV. – When I raised my hand to defend myself, it bit my fist. Then it left, and somehow I found my cell phone and called my friends. They called the ambulance and that's how I got help – he added.
There are about a thousand brown bears living in Croatia.
The number of brown bears in Croatia is estimated at around a thousand. They live mainly in the forest areas in the centre of the country, where the Plitvice Lakes National Park is located. Although they are a protected species, the authorities allow the shooting of around a hundred bears per year.
Plitvice Lakes Park, the largest nature park in Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracts over one and a half million tourists every year.
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