The image captured by mountain-lover Łukasz Walczuk shows him taking a selfie with what appears to be a bear in the background curiously gazing through the window of the remote lodge near Morskie Oko, a picturesque lake nestled in the Tatra Mountains.
Posted on the Tatra Mountain fan page Tatramaniacy under the caption “Watch out for bears in the shelter at Morskie Oko,” the image was quickly flooded with comments, with some readers saying they would have had “a heart attack.”
Others said the image was both “beautiful and terrifying.”
Not all was as it seemed, though, as it was later revealed that the bear was actually a picture on the side of a vending machine inside the lodge.
But the viral photo sparked fresh chatter about real bear encounters in the Tatra region, with users sharing their own more disturbing tales.
Recent years have seen an increase in reports of bears roaming towns and attacking hikers in neighboring Slovakia, leading to injuries and fatalities.
A 2019
scientific report from nature.com recorded 39.6 bear attacks per year globally, including 11.4 annually in North America and 18.2 in Europe—or 10 per year excluding Romania.
Bears in Poland
Brown bears nearly vanished from Poland by the late 17th century. By the 20th century, their presence was limited to the Tatra and Bieszczady Mountains. Post-World War II conservation efforts have led to a modest recovery.
Today, Poland is home to an estimated 100-150 bears, depending on the source, all in southern Poland.
Most live in the Bieszczady region, with smaller populations in the Tatra Mountains and the Żywiec Beskids.
According to reports from Poland’s Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (GIOŚ), the range and impact of brown bears in Poland have been increasing year by year.
