Motorcyclist mauled to death by bear while on holiday posted selfie with one before the fatal attack

An Italian man who was mauled to death by a bear while on a motorcycling trip in Romania took selfies with the animals before the fatal attack.

Omar Farang Zin had posted photos and video of bear encounters while riding along Romania’s famous Transfagarasan road the day before his death.

Romanian authorities said he got off his motorbike and tried to feed a bear, local news outlets reported, before it dragged him into a ravine.

Later, authorities told Romanian news outlets they found pictures and close-ups on his phone of a bear approaching him on his phone.

Armand Chiriloiu, director of the Arges Forestry Directorate told Observator News: “He got off the motorcycle and offered the bear food. The Italian tourist’s phone was also found, which contained some pictures prior to the attack. With the bear approaching… pictures, close-ups.”

The bear then attacked him, authorities said, dragging Mr Zin into the forest while other motorcyclists at the scene called emergency services.

Responders, including firefighters, forestry authorities, and police found the man’s body, which had been dragged into a ravine by the bear. But they quickly realised they were also in danger, according to Observator.

Dragos Onea-Arges from Mountain Rescue told the news outlet: “The bear followed us the whole time. She was very agitated. She attacked us a few times too.”

The bear was later shot dead. The day before his death, Mr Zin posted several up-close videos and photos of encounters with bears on the road.

In one video, he rides past a bear on his motorbike, commenting: “Look, a bear! How beautiful”.

In another clip he watches a bear in a gravelled area as the bear turns to approach him. “It’s coming towards me,” he says.

Italian media report that Mr Zin lived in the town of Samarate, in the northern region of Lombardy. Milano Today reported he worked at Malpensa Airport, and dozens of tributes flowed in on his social media page, many of whom said they would remember him for his smiling and kind personality.

Nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the past two decades, the environment ministry has said. Sightings of bears are common and local media regularly report bear attacks on people and livestock.

In 2024, Romania’s parliament doubled the annual bear kill quota to 481 per year. The move was taken to control the size of the bear population and to remove animals that have become accustomed to entering cities in search of food.

It came just a week after a 19-year-old hiker died after she was attacked by a bear on a popular trail in the Carpathian mountains in central Romania. The teenager called emergency services as she was attacked.

Just a few months prior, a 72-year-old Scottish tourist was mauled by a bear in Arges county after rolling down her car window to take a photo with the animal.

Wildlife experts have said bear attacks have increased because of human behaviour as the shrinking of the animals’ habitats due to construction, logging and climate change.

With additional reporting from wires