Woman Attacked by Brown Bear While Sleeping on Camping Trip amid Reports the Animal Has Been Terrorizing the Area

NEED TO KNOW

• A 43-year-old woman was allegedly attacked by a wild bear in Kamchatka, Russia, according to multiple reports

• She was sleeping in a tent while on an adventure tour when the animal severely injured her

• The attack comes amid reports that brown bears have been terrorizing villages in the region

A 43-year-old woman is in the hospital after being brutally attacked by a wild bear.

The woman was sleeping in a tent while on an adventure tour in Kamchatka, Russia when the brown bear mauled her on Friday, July 18, according to EurAsia Daily and local news outlet Izvestia.

She suffered “severe” injuries, including multiple bite wounds and a fracture, EurAsia Daily reported, citing the press service of the Ministry of Health of the Kamchatka Territory. Following an emergency operation, she is now in intensive care.

Per the outlets, Regional Minister of Emergency Situations Sergey Lebedev confirmed the news of the attack on the VKontakte social network. "It was a restless night today. At midnight, we were informed that a bear had attacked a 43-year-old tourist from Saratov in the area of the Mutnovskaya Geothermal Power Plant (Geothermal power Plant — Ed.)," he wrote.

He also stated that the tourist group’s route was not registered with the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation.

The investigative department of the regional department of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia has now organized a procedural examination into the circumstances of the attack, the outlets reported.

According to the Daily Mail, the woman who was attacked has been identified as Natalya K, from the Russian city of Saratov. 

Per the outlet, Natalya’s scream allegedly alerted other campers who were then able to scare the bear away. Her torn tent and scattered belongings could reportedly be seen in footage released by the regional prosecutor's office.

The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!

The attack came after a brown bear began terrorizing the village of Arka in the Okhotsk Municipal District in the Khabarovsk Territory since July 11, Izvestia reported. The animal, which is reportedly not afraid of people, "poses a real threat to the life and health of local residents."

Citing IA AmurMedia, Izvestia reported that from July 11 to July 17, the regional department of hunting recorded multiple situations involving bears. On July 14, one was spotted in the village of Novaya Inya in Okhotsk. One day later, bear tracks were found near the village of Malyshevo.

There is somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 brown bears — also known as the Kamchatka (Far Eastern) brown bear — in the region, according to Bear Conservation. Among the many threats they pose are "conflicts with humans."

Read the original article on People