A bear attacked a cyclist in Lääne-Virumaa. A passing driver prevented it from getting worse

He came from the shop and cycled home. The bear started chasing him and pulled him off the bike. The rider tried to attack the bear with the bag he was carrying, but the situation was already extremely dangerous. Fortunately, a vehicle came, the driver of which signaled loudly. At that the bear ran away. The man’s clothes and backpack are broken, and he also suffered minor injuries in the attack, but did not require hospital treatment. A bear also attacked a person in that area last year.

The incident took place on a large asphalt road, two kilometers from Väike-Maarja. Hunters cannot say why a particular bear lost its fear of humans. The number of bears is increasing. Young male bears are driven out of better territories. They have to accept poorer areas and territories closer to people.

1. At the end of September 2025, the Tallinn District Court suspended the 2025/26 NGO Eesti Suurkiskjad on the request of the preliminary legal protection. organization of bear hunting in the hunting year. This hunting season, the primary hunting limit for bears was 71 brown bears. Based on the available data, 28 brown bears were hunted.