Bear and Man Kill Each Other After Clash in Rural Turkey
 

Bear and Man Kill Each Other After Clash in Rural Turkey
By: Robyn White - NewsWeek News 07-04-22
Re: https://www.newsweek.com/bear-man-ki...1337?piano_t=1

A bear and a man have been found dead after they killed each other in a clash in rural eastern Turkey.
(Photo: https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/20705...6987befd82ba50
A stock photo shows a brown bear baring its teeth. A wild bear attacked and killed a Turkish shepherd. - JNEVITT/GETTY

Shepherd Fatih İlhan, 44, was last seen tending his goats in the Olur district of Erzurum province on June 29, the Demirören News Agency reported, as quoted by Hurriyet Daily News.

However İlhan, a father of five, failed to return to lead the animals back to the barn after hours.

When his family noticed the goats had arrived at the barn without their owner, they immediately called authorities to look for him.

İlhan's body was found mauled with large scars shortly after a search for him began, Demirören News Agency reported.

The body of a bear, that had been shot in the chest, was found 100 yards from where the shepherd's gun lay on the ground.

Authorities believe the bear attempted to attack the shepherd's livestock.

After the shepherd had shot the bear with his rifle, the bear then turned on him and mauled him.

The bear later succumbed to its injuries.

Newsweek asked the Turkish Gendarmerie for comment.

It is not clear what species of bear killed the man. However, wild brown bears live throughout Turkey's forests and across its 33 national parks. They are particularly abundant in the eastern parts of the country, across the Eastern Anatolia regions.

In recent years, the bear population has been rising, causing problems for rural communities.

In 2021, the Daily Sabah reported that villagers had taken to leaving giblets in the forests, in an attempt to keep hungry bears off their settlements. However they have also sought help from the government to control the population.

Where bears and humans live in close proximity—with populations rising and human settlements spreading further into wild habitats—conflicts become more frequent.

Bears were notably getting bolder in 2021, as the Daily Sabah reported that they were getting closer to restaurants, hoping for an easy meal.

Bears only tend to attack humans when they are feeling provoked or threatened. More often than not, a bear will run away from humans if it is scared. Bears that are more used to humans tend to be more aggressive.

It is not the first time such an incident has occurred.

In June, a bear that had been shot by a Russian hunter, turned on the man and crushed his skull.

The 62-year-old hunter had attempted to kill the bear from a platform in the Tulun district of the Irkutsk region of Russia, shortly before the animal turned on him, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The hunter's mauled corpse was found by authorities shortly after he was declared missing.
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Personal note: That was a swell report wasn't it! Killed by a bear - wow!
(makes me thing of Davy Crockett - he killed him a bear - didn't he)?