Lesnicej in Slovakia suffered several broken bones after an encounter with a brown bear on a remote trail, DPA reported.
The incident took place in a thickly overgrown forest in the municipality of Kvachani, far from populated areas, a spokeswoman for the state nature protection organization SOPSR told the TASR news agency on Thursday, BTA specified.
"The bear pounced on the ranger on a narrow forest path on steep terrain and knocked him down," the spokeswoman said. The 35-year-old man then fell down the slope and suffered broken ribs and bruises.
The speaker of the parliament from the Social Democrats, Peter Pellegrini, who is running for the presidential election on Saturday, announced yesterday evening that a special session of the parliament will be convened on Tuesday to discuss the recent frequent clashes between brown bears and people.
"The state must first of all protect the life and health of people and only then that of predators," Pellegrini told the TASR agency.
Over the weekend, a mushroom picker and a tourist were attacked and injured by bears. In mid-March, a bear that got lost in the small town of Liptovský Mikuláš injured five people.