A hiker encountered a bear while trekking in an area without a breeding bear population for over 175 years. The incident took place in the Chiemgau Alps of Germany during daylight hours. The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, heard a strange noise and a crow’s alarmed call before spotting a brown bear standing upright about 200 meters away.
Reacting swiftly, she decided to run without capturing a photo of the bear. Brown bears have been gradually increasing in numbers in the Alps, primarily concentrated in the Central Alps near the borders of Italy, Austria, and Slovenia. While most bears are linked to the Dinaric-Balkan population in the Balkans, occasional sightings in the Chiemgau Alps are uncommon, with no evidence of a breeding population since 1835.
Notably, in 2006, ‘Bruno the bear’ gained fame in Germany after roaming freely for seven weeks in Bavaria. Despite multiple attempts to capture him, authorities eventually had to euthanize him near Zell for public safety concerns. In contrast, wild bear sightings in Britain have been absent for centuries, with the last recorded sighting in Scotland dating back to the 1430s and in England to the 1240s.
Globally, bear attacks remain a serious threat, especially in rural areas where human settlements intersect with bear habitats. Recently, in Bella Coola, Canada, a grizzly bear attacked a group of primary school children and teachers, leaving 11 people injured and two critically wounded. Among the victims was a child who felt the bear’s fur up close, while a brave teacher sustained severe injuries trying to intervene before being rushed to the hospital.