In the halo of torches, two cubs appear at the foot of a tree. They look behind them, towards the forest. Come forward to drink in a tub that the rain has just filled. Their mother was killed a few meters away, in an alley in the Romanian city of Predeal: On March 30, she seriously injured the chief of the mountain rescue services in the town. Since then, these two 18 -month -old bear regularly have come to sleep here, at the foot of a tired building. Laura Niculescu and her husband, George, observe them, without fear. Their laptop rings, an alert message is displayed: one bear is reported in another street.
Like the other localities of the Prahova valley, in the south of the Romanian carpats, Predeal spreads among the woods. Its ski slopes, villas and hotels attract tourists. “Here, each street leads to the forest, insists Laura Niculescu. What are people expect to see wood getting out? Flamingo pink? »»she asks. Imposing in her long black coat, this 48 -year -old woman, whom her friends nicknamed “Mama Bear” (“Maman Dipper”), spends several evenings a week to track brown bears in the region. It follows the barking of dogs reporting their presence. She knows where they cross the city, near uninhabited houses. She knows the districts where trash cans drag.
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Source: Lemonde