A brown bear attacked two people in a forest area in Slovakia.
A jogger was injured and had to be taken to the hospital.
BRATISLAVA - Two joggers were attacked by a brown bear in Slovakia, one of them injured by the animal's bites.
Police reported the incident on Facebook on Thursday.
The injured person is therefore a 38-year-old man.
He suffered bite injuries in the calf area, but the injuries were not life-threatening.
As recently as October last year, a bear attack in Slovakia seriously injured a jogger.
Slovakia: Brown bear injured jogger in the forest - bite injuries on calves
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A brown bear stands in the tall grass.
(symbol photo)
© Horst Ossinger/dpa
The incident happened on Wednesday on a forest road in the municipality of Tuzina in north-western Slovakia.
The man was treated in a hospital after the brown bear attack and released home the same day.
After the incident, police urged vigilance when staying in forested areas where bears live, as bears tend to leave their dens as the warmer months begin.
According to the bear task force of the State Nature Conservation Agency (SOP), the animal had apparently "searched for its natural food, probably beechnuts, in its natural habitat" in a young beech forest.
It was disturbed by the two runners and therefore attacked, the TASR news agency quoted the experts as saying.
Anyone moving in such an area must expect to encounter such animals.
According to official counts, there are currently around 1,200 wild bears in Slovakia.
(nz/dpa)
List of rubrics: © Horst Ossinger/dpa
