A wild bear was filmed attacking a tourist in his car.
The holidaymaker stopped on the mountain road and reportedly tossed food scraps to the mother bear, accompanied by at least one cub.
But the adult bear reacted angrily, launching a ferocious attack on the Bulgarian tourist sitting inside his car.
READ MORE: Tourist crushed by huge block of ice while exploring cave
The animal reportedly smashed a window and tried to drag the tourist, named Georgi Bizhev, out of his vehicle.
The 46-year-old, who comes from the Bulgarian town of from Gorna Oryahovitsa, suffered serious bite wounds to his left arm.
He said the bear clawed and bit him as he raised his arm to shield his face and neck.
A seatbelt helped save him from worse injury as other drivers honked and shouted to scare the aggressive animal away.
He later said: “I saw the bear’s ears prick up and it jumped at me.
“It tried to grab me and pull me out of the car.”
The attack took place on the Transfăgărășan Highway near the Vidraru Dam in central Romania last Wednesday (27 May).
Romanian emergency services responded after Georgi alerted guards at the dam.
Officials stressed that the mother bear was likely protecting her cub.
The stretch of road is a famous ‘bear pass’ where tourists frequently stop to observe and feed wildlife, as reported by Need To Know.
Georgi, a sports official and former football club president, said such encounters are commonplace on the route, with food sold at stops, although he acknowledged feeding bears is inappropriate.
He admitted: “I entered its environment, it was a mistake for which I paid.”
He has since returned to Bulgaria for further treatment.
No harm came to the bear or her cub.
Feeding wild bears carries heavy fines of between £1,645 and £4,935 (RON 10,000 and 30,000) in Romania.
The local authorities urged tourists against approaching or feeding bears, which are protected but increasingly habituated to humans in the Carpathians.
READ MORE: Foolish driver gets tricked into street race before being flashed by speed camera
