ROMANIA – JULY 4, 2025 On the popular Romanian road Transfăgărășan, a bear attacked an Italian motorcyclist, 48-year-old Omar Farang Zin. Unfortunately, he did not survive the attack.
Omar had traveled with his motorcycle into the Romanian Carpathians. Along the way, he found a parking area where bears would gather, seemingly comfortable around humans and willing to be photographed. It almost appeared as if they were used to people. He took many pictures and shared them on his social media.
The place and the bears fascinated him so much that he returned the next day. This time, he was less cautious and took selfies up close with a female bear and her cubs. He even tried to feed them. Tragically, he managed to capture the final moment before his death – right as the mother bear lunged at him.
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- Omar Farang Zin
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- His last photo
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- His dead body
Omar didn’t survive the attack. He was dragged 200 feet (60 meters) into a ravine and torn apart. Authorities later located and shot the bear, allegedly to protect other visitors.
Romania has the largest brown bear population in Europe after Russia. It’s estimated that between 10,000 and 13,000 bears live there. Yet over the past 20 years, there have only been around 30 fatal bear attacks.
