Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LX
Written by Laura Mihaela DUMITRU, Andrei Constantin STOIAN, Laura DARIE, Emilia CIOBOTARU
The study aimed to describe the morphology of injuries produced by brown bear (Ursusarctosarctos) on domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, pig and chicken.The study has been conducted during the period 2014 -2016 in Romania, Argeş County.The lesions have been described in fifteen dead animals and two injured animals left alive.Indirect methods for identifying the attacking species were used by collecting samples from the site of the attack (hair, faecesand footprints). Dead animals have been examined by necropsy. Routine clinical examination has been done on alive animals. Additional information about the attacked animals has been gathered by interviewing the owners and hunting fund managers. The characteristic injuries for bear attack were represented by parallel and linear, superficial or deep wounds, bite marks, and tissue avulsions. Prey consumption appears to be characteristic in attacked animals, in humans being rarely mentioned. The specific localization of bear mauling are on head, neck, cervical and thoracic areas followed by upper hindquarters, forelimbs and hind limbs. The most serious injuries are represented by the neck and chest area features which have been observed in cattle examination.Mortality rate for the animals attacked by brown bear and found dead or alive is: 100% for chickens, 100% for pigs, 66.66% for sheep, 87.5% for cattle.
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