00:00From the forest along Romania's scenic Transfagarishan mountain road, the bears saunter out, approaching travelers who stopped to feed them
00:09and take selfies, and who ignored warnings that doing so is illegal and punishable by hefty fines.
00:17It's a scene that illustrates the challenge facing Romanian authorities.
00:22They are struggling to enforce rules to keep residents and tourists safe from attacks while controlling Europe's largest brown bear
00:29population outside Russia.
00:32Romania is home to 10,000 to 13,000 of them, according to the country's Environment Ministry.
00:38Encounters between bears and humans have become increasingly common in mountain communities.
00:43Some encounters have been deadly.
00:46The Environment Ministry says nearly 30 people have been killed by bears in Romania over the last two decades.
00:52This 59-year-old resident of Predial in central Romania says the bears have become a regular presence and threat.
01:01Urban expansion and climate change have shrunk and fragmented natural habitats, and the animals are now accustomed to entering towns
01:09and cities in search of food.
01:10In an effort to avoid further attacks and control the bear population, lawmakers in April doubled the annual hunting quota
01:18for this year and next to nearly 900.
01:21That's drawn sharp criticism from wildlife experts and conservationists who say the move fails to address the problem.
01:27Christina Lapis is with Liberti Sanctuary, which hosts 140 bears that were either orphaned or rescued from owners who kept
01:36them as roadside attractions.
01:40The new law will not solve the problem.
01:43This conflict between people and bears will not be resolved through the hunting law.
01:48First of all, because the hunting will not be done where bears are coming onto roadsides on Transfiguration Road.
01:57Town and city authorities also have the power to shoot bears that break into people's gardens and houses.
02:02But Cyprian Galuska of the Climate Adaptation Platform Association says some of the existing non-lethal rules to prevent bears
02:10from entering towns,
02:12including fines for feeding the animals, waste management rules and subsidies for electric fencing, are not being properly enforced.
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