TRANSFAGARASAN, Romania, Aug 1 (Reuters) - In just three hours on a sunny morning on Romania's scenic Transfagarasan mountain road, at least 20 brown bears emerged from the forest and approached motorists who had stopped to feed them and take selfies.
The motorists ignored signs along the hairpin bends of the road which cuts through the Carpathian mountains warning visitors that feeding the animals is illegal and punishable by hefty fines.
The scene illustrates a growing challenge for Romanian authorities, who are struggling to enforce rules to keep residents and tourists safe from attacks while controlling Europe's largest brown bear population outside Russia.
Romania's environment ministry estimates the country is home to 10,000 to 13,000 brown bears, based on a preliminary multi-year DNA study.
Encounters between the bears and humans have become increasingly common in mountain communities as urban expansion and climate change shrink and fragment natural habitats, with the animals now accustomed to entering towns and cities in search of food.
Some have been deadly. Nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last two decades, the environment ministry said.
For residents like 59-year-old Jean Stangaciu in the mountain town of Predeal in central Romania, the bears have become a regular presence and threat.
"The bear comes almost every evening," he said, describing visits to rubbish containers near his home. "We already don't go out into town in the evening."
CRITICS SAY STRONGER LAW ENFORCEMENT NEEDED
In an effort to avoid further attacks and control the bear population, lawmakers in April doubled the European Union state's annual hunting quota for this year and next to nearly 900, drawing sharp criticism from wildlife experts and conservationists.
Critics say the move fails to address the problem of bears encroaching onto residential property as hunters will likely seek large trophy animals deep in the forest rather than mothers and cubs entering towns seeking food.
"Hunting won't happen where bears come to the roadside, on the Transfagarasan," said Cristina Lapis of the Libearty Sanctuary, which hosts 140 bears thatwere either orphaned or rescued from owners who kept them as roadside attractions.
From 2021, town and city authorities also have the power to shoot bears that break into people's gardens and houses.
Ciprian Galusca of the Climate Adaptation Platform Association said some of the existing non-lethal rules to prevent bears from entering towns — including fines for feeding the animals, waste management rules and subsidies for electric fencing — were not being properly enforced.
(Reporting by Andreea Campeanu; writing by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
