Mushroom picker attacked by bear with two cubs, basket saves his life
The attack didn't dissuade hikers following day.
On Saturday, a female brown bear attacked and injured a 67-year old man while he was mushroom picking in the forest above the village of Kanianka, Prievidza district in western Slovakia.
"I was walking through the forest. A bear with two cubs attacked me from the tall grass. All I could do was to quickly turn before it pounced on me. I had a bag with a basket on my back. It knocked me to the ground, grabbed both my shoulders, and then bit off the basket, which saved my life," said Ján Kubica after he was patched up in Prievidza hospital, adding that bears usually attack when you surprise them.
"Today I disturbed it, but I had no idea it was there. I knew there were people ahead of me so I had no worries."
Despite the bleeding wounds, the man was able to walk two kilometres to a nearby meadow and call his wife, who called for rescue that arrived about half an hour later. The bear caused 17 wounds to his face, chest and thighs, which required almost 50 stitches.
In his 40 years of mushroom picking, the man has crossed a bear's path three times, including the latest encounter. The first time was a female bear with three cubs, but he managed to run away. The second was with a young male; the man stopped and the animal moved away.
The My Horná Nitra news site reported that on Sunday, the forest where the incident took place was full of hikers and mushroom pickers. When asked about the attack, several admitted they had some reservations, but not enough to dissuade them from going there.
The attack came just two weeks after a bear attacked and injured a man near the village of Hybe, Liptovský Mikuláš district in northern Slovakia. The man later succumbed to the injuries.
In this regard, Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba (SNS nominee) announced on Sunday that 12 problematic bears had been shot in nine days in the district
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