The animal injured passers-by on March 17, apparently looking for an escape route from the town of Liptovsky Mikulas. Authorities then tracked down the bear using drones and surveillance cameras.

EThe Braunbär that injured five people in a small town in Slovakia was tracked down and shot more than a week later. As Environment Minister Tomas Taraba announced on Facebook on Wednesday, the animal was killed on Tuesday evening. As TASR news agency reported, drones were also used to find and identify the bear without suspicion. In addition, the “Brown Bear Operative Team”, part of the national nature conservation organization SOPSR, had created a network of surveillance cameras to search for the animal. The area around the town of Liptovsky Mikulas (old German name: Sankt Nikolaus in der Liptau) had been combed by team patrols as well as police and hunters.

On March 17, the bear wandered through the city and injured passers-by. Cell phone videos showed the startled animal running between cars in the streets in stress, apparently looking for an escape route. It jumped on adults and children who couldn't get out of the way in time.

The attackers, aged between 10 and 72, suffered bite wounds and scratches, and one almost lost an eye. Despite this, the five injured people were able to go home after a short hospital stay.

The incident reinforced earlier calls by some of the population and hunters to regulate bear numbers by shooting. According to research carried out by SOPSR in cooperation with researchers from Charles University in Prague, there are approximately 1,100-1,200 wild bears living in Slovakia. They usually avoid people if they spot them in time. In the event of a surprise encounter, or if female bears believe their cubs are in danger, they may also attack.