Romania animals · Animals in Romania
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Animals in Romania
Animals in Romania
Romania has a very large population of wild animals, including one of the largest population of wild bears in the world. It is commonplace for bears to visit city neighborhoods situated near mountain forests in search for food (such as in Braşov). As such, spotting a bear or wolf is fairly easy. Although usually not dangerous, such animals may become aggressive if care is not taken. If you spot a bear or wolf when hiking, it is advisable to slowly turn around and slowly walk the other way. Local shepherds advise people who are wild camping to camp out in the open rather than under trees where possible to avoid the bears. Under any circumstances, do not attempt to run or try to feed the animal, as it may become disoriented and attack. In 2006, 6 persons have been killed by wild animals in Romania. There have also been cases in which tourists encountered bear cubs and attempted to feed or play with them. In some cases this has turned out to be a fatal mistake. If you happen to encounter any sort of young animals be aware their parents are somewhere close. The best thing you can do is leave the area as soon as possible, as cuddly and cute as bear cubs may be, their parents are not. Bears are extremely agressive when they have cubs and will attack at the slightest hint of a threat to their cubs. Please be aware. This is one of the leading causees of attacks by animals on people.
Feral animals such as stray dogs may additionally pose a problem in Bucharest and other major cities, where they are widespread. Most will not be aggressive,but careful about animals in packs and at night. Some are taken care of by people from nearby housing blocks and these can be especially territorial and can sometimes attack without warning. The number of stray dogs is declining but is still extremely high and overall they are the biggest physical danger especially in remote areas.
Romanian farmers also use dogs for herding and protecting sheep. You'll most likely see this if you're walking near any farms, on dirt roads, or rural areas. You can tell they are sheep dogs as farmers usually attach horizontally-hanging sticks under their necks. If you encounter one of these dogs, it might appear scared at first, and might be looking backwards. It is indeed scared, but it is not looking for retreat: it's looking for it's other doggy friends! If you continue walking towards their territory or whatever herd of sheep they are protecting, they will most certainly become more and more defensive, and have no doubt that more and more will appear as you get closer to the herd. In situations like this, you simply need to back off. It's not worth attempting to defend yourself either, as Romanian farmers will get very angry. If you are in a rural area, consider waiting for a horse and buggy or car for hitchhiking: this is the best way to cross such territories.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Romania
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Romania Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.