Bear killed after eating goat, entering school grounds

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian hunting officials have shot dead a brown bear after it rampaged through an empty high school and scared residents in Miercurea Ciuc, a town in central Romania.

Local police officers said the bear entered a resident’s yard early Tuesday, snatched and killed a goat, then scaled a high fence to enter the school, which was deserted because of summer vacation.

“The bear killed and ate a goat and had several naps; we couldn’t get rid of him,” local government official Sandor Petres told the Mediafax news agency.

After several hours, officials maneuvered the bear into a secluded area and shot it. Petres said authorities were unable to locate someone to tranquilize the bear.

The incident occurred a day after two zookeepers were mauled by a bear in the nearby city of Brasov after they had entered a cage occupied by two female bears and a cub at a zoo. Authorities said the keepers had not respected safety procedures and should have evacuated the animals before entering.

There are believed to be more than 6,000 brown bears in Romania.