One point for accountability: a frightening bear encounter becomes a warning about what happens when tourists treat wildlife like an attraction.
This is one point for the humans — not because anyone was attacked, but because someone eventually owned up to the choices that helped place both human and animal in danger.
Even when shame, embarrassment and fear take over, telling the truth matters. In a wildlife encounter, refusing responsibility can cost a person their life and can also lead to an animal being punished for behaving like a wild animal.
Keep your distance, never feed wildlife and never mistake familiarity with people for safety.
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Bulgarian tourist Georgi Bizhev was traveling through Romania’s mountainous Transfăgărășan Highway near Vidraru Dam, an area known for roadside bear sightings.
Reports say tourists in the area regularly stop to observe and feed the bears despite official warnings and substantial fines. Bizhev later acknowledged that feeding wild animals was wrong, even if the practice had become normalized among visitors.
A mother bear accompanied by a cub approached the vehicles. Bizhev said his window was closed while he filmed from inside the car, but the situation escalated as other tourists began honking and shouting.
The footage shows the bear launching toward the vehicle, breaking the window and reaching inside. Bizhev said the animal attempted to pull him from the driver’s seat and initially reached toward his neck.
He raised his left arm to protect his face and neck, suffering serious bite wounds that required surgery. Bizhev also credited his seatbelt with helping keep him inside the car.
Most importantly, Bizhev did not blame the animal afterward.
“I entered its environment. I believe what I did was a mistake. A mistake that, as you can see, I have paid for.”
Georgi Bizhev
That admission matters. It does not erase a dangerous choice or the injuries that followed, but it refuses the familiar ending in which a wild animal pays for a situation created by human behavior.
Neither the mother bear nor her cub was reported harmed. No triumphant ending is needed here. Just a clear lesson: do not feed wild animals, do not approach a mother with her young and do not assume a closed car makes an unsafe encounter safe.
The majestic beings we admire from a distance are still wild. Respecting that boundary protects them and us.
Watch footage of the bear attacking Georgi Bizhev’s car in Romania.
The New York Post report includes footage from inside the vehicle and another nearby car as the mother bear breaks the window and reaches toward Bizhev. The video contains a frightening animal attack and distressed audio.
Sources: BNT News published Bizhev’s account; Radio Bulgaria reported the roadside feeding and injury details.
