Police Chase Away Bear From Ljubljana

Slovene police officers managed to chase away the young bear from Ljubljana towards Polhograjski Dolomites.

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA - Slovene police officers managed to chase away the young bear from Ljubljana towards Polhograjski Dolomites, which is where it most probably came from, Dnevnik.si writes.

Police did not shoot the two-year-old bear, because they assessed it was not a threat as it did not display any signs of aggression. The Tivoli Park is now open.

The citizens of Ljubljana have been notified on Thursday morning that there is a bear on the roam in their city. The animal was first spotted at 3 a.m. in front of the fence of the Ljubljana ZOO.

- The bear was spotted by a ZOO keeper at 3 a.m. He first heard some sounds in the bushes in front of the ZOO and when he went to see what was happening, he encountered the bear. The keeper returned to his shed and the bear went away. We checked whether our bears were in the cages and determined that they were – Barbara Mihelic, the head of the Ljubljana ZOO told us. She added that the bear was two years old and was currently on the move in the city park.

Possible scenario

She said they were planning to put the bear to sleep and move it to a different location where it will not be in contact with people. She also pointed out that the bear was a real attraction and that there was no fear of it attacking anyone.

- The operation of tracking the bear has been complicated because everything is in bloom, the grass has grown and it is difficult to spot the bear – Mihelic said.

The bear`s movements are controlled by the Forest Institutes of Slovenia, while the police have close the entrance to Ljubljana`s Tivoli Park.