British tourist, 72, mauled by bear after rolling down car window to take photo with it

A woman from Scotland was driving along a remote road in Romania when she spotted two bears, one of which later pounced on her arm

(Jam Press)

A British woman who was mauled by a bear during a trip to Romania said she had “just wanted to take a picture” of the animal.

The woman, named as 72-year-old Moira Gallacher in reports, was driving along a remote road in the Arges County are of the country when she spotted two of the animals.

The tourist, from Scotland, said she wanted to get photos of the bears and pulled down the car window to get a better look at them.

At this point, one of the bears approached the car and put its paw on the window before pouncing on her arm.

Bear puts its paw up on window before pouncing (Jam Press)

Her friend, who was driving the car, then accelerated to escape further attack.

The encounter took place on the Transfagarasan mountain road in Arges County, Romania, on 22 April.

The OAP was later taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after the attack in the Carpathian Mountains.

“We were in the car and we were going to take a picture,” she told local media following the attack.

“And the bears came up to the window.”

In her hospital bed, the tourist said: “I just wanted to take a picture of him.”

The OAP was later taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after the attack in the Carpathian Mountains (Jam Press)

Doctors later confirmed her injuries were not life-threatening.

A friend of Ms Gallacher told reporters she may have suffered worse injuries to her arm had she not been wearing a thick, padded M&S jacket.

Following the attack, the police organised themselves into several teams to drive the bears away from the area.

They also advised residents and tourists to always keep a safe distance if encountering animals in the wild.

Romania has a large population of bears and there were an estimated 7,500 to 8,000 in the southeastern European country in 2023, according to the EU.

Between 2016 and 2021, there were 154 attacks by bears; 14 of which were fatal while 158 others were injured.

Bears can also still be found in nearby Slovakia, where the Carpathian Mountain range stretches into.

Last month a 10-year-old girl was among five people injured in the second bear attack in Slovakia in the space of just three days.

A state of emergency was declared in Liptovsky Mikulas, near the Tatra mountains in northern Slovakia, after a brown bear attacked residens there.

Days earlier a 31-year-old Belarussian woman, identified as Tatiana, was found dead following another brown bear sighting nearby.

Bears were once common across Europe but are now only found the pockets of wilderness, mostly in eastern and southeastern Europe.