Transylvania, Romania : Tracking brown bears on foot at midnight deep in the forest and coming face-to-face with a huge one

August 2024

When a long weekend rolled around in France thanks to a public holiday, I saw the perfect opportunity. By tacking on just two extra days of leave, I suddenly had enough time to venture somewhere far off . For years, Eastern Europe had been calling my name. Its rich wildlife, untamed forests, and the promise of adventure were impossible to resist.

Ever since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by bears. There’s something about their intimidating presence and raw power that makes them the ultimate predator in my eyes. So, when I learned that Romania is home to the largest bear population in all of Europe, I knew exactly where I needed to go. If you’re hoping to spot one of these “big boys” in the wild, there’s no better place than the deep, mysterious forests of Transylvania. But I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing it the way I did. Venturing into bear territory without  proper precautions can be quite risky due to obvious reasons.

Despite their shy nature, European brown bears (Ursus arctos) are among the most powerful predators in Europe’s wild landscapes. Their reputation as ruthless predators comes from their immense physical strength and surprising agility for their size. Some adult males can weigh up to 350 - 400 Kgs. With my bags packed and my curiosity piqued, I set off in search of bears in the wild heart of Romania. Nothing prepared me for what was about to come.

Day 1

I must say it was a bit tiring after the long flight to Bucharest from Paris with a transit in Warsaw. I landed around 01h30 AM in the morning and took the metro to Bucharest city. The plan was to get a short nap and take the train to Brasov the following morning. The cozy bed put me to sleep pretty quick and I woke up around 6 AM. The railway station was hardly a 2-minute walk from my hotel. But this was enough to make me feel the "Eastern European" vibes. It had finally sunk in that I was actually in Romania and was about to board a train to a pretty wild place. Nothing prepared me for what was coming ahead.

I quickly grabbed some Romanian cheese pies called '' Cascaval " for breakfast at a local bakery before boarding the train. Being a vegetarian, I didn't have a lot of choice either. I didn't know that this simple pie would be my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 3 days (along with some wild apples).

I reached Brasov after a 2-hour train ride. I decided to walk from the train station to my Airbnb which was a good 1 hour atleast. I love to explore new places by walking. I feel it makes the overall experience more authentic. Some of the old dilapidated buildings with monotone colours, the relatively quiet streets and the aura reminded me of rural Russia

I reached the Airbnb ofcourse a bit tired after the long voyage. But the owner texted me that the room wasn't ready yet and that I had to wait atleast another hour. Despite being frustrated, I used this as an opportunity to explore the old city centre which was just a stone’s throw away. It was bustling with tourists and I thoroughly enjoyed the short walk passing through the local bakeries and restaurants. But this is not what I came for. I couldn't wait to head into the wild Transylvanian forests, which are surrounded by the majestic Carpathian Mountains. I went to bed early as I had to wake up at 3 AM the next morning. Before doing so, I called my contact, who was going to take me into the forests. He was a young man in his late twenties and a PhD candidate researching bear behavior, among other fauna such as beavers and wolves. I called him to confirm if everything was set for our departure, to which he responded positively.

Sunrise in the Carpathian mountains and the valley of flowers

The street where my Airbnb was located

Brasov town - Main street

Bear poop

Fox pugmarks

The hillside where we spotted the mother bear and 4 cubs

Transylvanian countryside (bear territory)

Day 2

I was so excited that it took me a while to fall asleep. I woke up at half past two in the morning and did a quick workout to get my energy flowing, followed by a quick bath. For breakfast, if you could call it that, I had some apples and yogurt. The sky was still pitch dark, and as I walked from my Airbnb to the main road, I noticed there was not a soul on the street except for a few stray dogs barking in the distance.

The guide arrived in a Dacia, and we exchanged greetings. Before I realized it, we were already heading toward some of the deepest forests in the region, proper bear territory. We got along instantly, both sharing a passion for wildlife, but we also chatted about other topics such as the monotony of city life and his PhD research. Soon, he began to share a couple of stories, and as soon as he started narrating, he had my full attention.

The first story was about a recent incident that happened a few weeks before my arrival in the Bucegi Mountains. A young girl in her late teens was attacked and killed by a bear while hiking with her boyfriend. I will not go into the gruesome details, but the culprit was a small bear, not more than eighty kilograms. I was really disturbed when he showed me some photos. I could only imagine the kind of damage a big bear could do.

The second story was about a massive 350 kg problem bear that my guide and his friend went looking for in the forests. Problem bears are those that frequent human settlements in search of food, sometimes attacking locals in the process. After a long game of cat and mouse, they finally crossed paths. The friend shot a bullet right through the bear’s chest, assuming that would be the end of it. However, to their shock, the bear became even more aggressive and charged at them with double the ferocity. The bear was less than ten meters away when he aimed again and put another bullet through its nose, instantly killing it. If the bullet had missed its mark, it would have certainly been game over for them. This story was enough to instill a sense of fear in me toward these unpredictable beasts. It was a good example of how powerful and unbelievably resilient bears can be.

After a brief pause, I asked him what one should do if they encounter a bear in the wild. Since he was a scientist, I expected a response like, “Stay calm, do not move, play dead, do not show fear, make yourself look big,” and so on. But all he said was, “Run!” The message was quite clear.

Later, my guide gave me a piece of equipment I had never seen before. It looked high-tech and sophisticated. It was a thermal scope for detecting wildlife, worth at least five thousand euros. I opened the window and started scanning the landscape, hoping to get lucky. Luck was on our side that morning, as there was a lot of activity. We stopped at a couple of spots to observe a fox hunting a mouse, several roe deer, eagles, wild rabbits, and even a rare jungle cat. All these sightings were pretty far off and, unfortunately, could not be captured on my camera. To give you an idea, we had to use the telescope at full zoom just to see them clearly.

After doing some off-roading on the way to the mountains, we parked the car and set off on foot. We spent several hours searching for bear signs but found absolutely nothing. Then, suddenly, we spotted some scat that looked peculiar. I knew it was not cow dung or anything that came from a dog. My guide confirmed that it was indeed bear poop. He took some swabs to collect DNA samples. In the meantime, I started to break apart the scat with a plastic stick to see what the bear's last meal was. It was predominantly wild fruits, grass, and seeds. Surprisingly, the smell of the scat was somewhat sweet.

After several more hours of tracking, my guide suddenly whispered, "Bears!" It was a mother with four cubs, far away in the opposite valley at our ten o’clock. Only God knows how my guide spotted them. Even with binoculars, I had a hard time locking them in. I finally saw them. It is difficult to describe the feeling of seeing a bear in the wild for the first time, something I had only seen on National Geographic since childhood. However, the moment was short-lived, because after a few seconds they disappeared into the forest again. I thought my mission was over, but Romania still had more incredible experiences in store for me.

End of Day 2 & Day 3 : Walking into the deep forests after midnight hours

Who goes into the forest on foot after midnight, looking for bears with no guns and an almost empty can of pepper spray? Well, that is exactly what the both of us did, to put it simply. Being a scientist, my guide sometimes ventured into the forest at night, but taking tourists along was never part of his plan, as it was extremely dangerous. This sort of thing was strictly prohibited and well beyond the reach of the general public, but somehow I managed to convince him with persistence. I cannot go into all the details of this story, so I have tried to keep it brief. The reason is that Romanian authorities might not be too happy about it, and I also do not want to put my guide in a difficult position.

At about midnight, both of us headed into the forest, taking each step with caution while looking for signs of bears. To give you some context, if the torch had lost battery or stopped working, we would have been in absolute pitch darkness and that is still an understatement. I mean, I would not have been able to see my guide even though he was only a few meters ahead of me. It was that dark.

After a while, my guide asked me, "Did you see it?" I thought he was either trying to scare me for fun or making a joke-one of the two. I asked him, "See what?" to which he replied that a big bear had just crossed the trail a few meters ahead of us. I found it hard to believe, but then I suddenly heard some noises at my eleven o’clock. The sounds were coming from the forest and it seemed as if someone was breaking sticks. It was indeed the bear, and I was experiencing a strange mix of disbelief and anxiety. My brain was urging me to run away from that place as quickly as possible, but somehow I stayed put. This was my first close encounter, but unfortunately, I missed actually seeing the bear. It still gives me goosebumps, but this was not even the real climax!

That same night, we suddenly came across this big guy while swinging our torches, and he was less than twenty meters from us. Theoretically, he should have attacked, given such close proximity, but somehow he seemed relaxed and gently walked off into the forest. I still remember his greenish-yellow eyes glowing from the reflection of my torchlight.

After this encounter, everything else was a blur for me, and it took almost two or three days to fully process what had just happened. I have never experienced such a surreal and raw feeling. Seeing a wild bear at such close range was both powerful and intimidating. Fortunately, the bear seemed to be in a good mood, and we did not end up on the menu for his dinner.

And yes, that is me, the guy with the torch in the video below. I am not sure how I was even holding it, since my hands were shaking. In retrospect, I sometimes think about how crazy this whole experience was.