A 29-year-old woman in Russia was dragged from her tent and killed by a bear just a day after her fiancé proposed to her during a romantic camping trip, according to reports. Snezhana Korolyova was camping with her partner, who has not been named, in the Altai Mountains when the attack occurred at 1am. The bear tore apart their tent and hauled the screaming woman away, mauling her to death before carrying her across the Biya River.
Bear dragged victim across river as campers watched
The animal then began to bury Korolyova in the forest while other campers tried to distract it. Police and local gamekeepers shot into the air rather than at the bear, according to witnesses, citing Russian rules that prohibit shooting bullets in populated areas. A witness named Alina said: ‘They were shooting [in the air], but it wasn’t frightened. It wouldn’t give her up and….dragged her across the river.’ She added: ‘Her boyfriend is in shock, he had only just proposed to her. It’s horrific.’
Witnesses criticised police response as bear remains at large
Alina criticised the tourists for their lack of caution, stating: ‘Tourists have no fear — they know bears roam around the headwaters, yet they pitched their tent in the corner beside the river.’ She also expressed frustration with the authorities: ‘What infuriated people most was that, despite having the opportunity to kill a man-eating bear, the uniformed officers fired into the air, citing a ban on shooting at a target within a populated area. How does that make sense?’ Another witness claimed she and her sister had encountered the same bear at the Istok holiday campsite the previous night. ‘We came face to face with it,’ she said. ‘My sister fell over and crawled into a hut while lying on the ground. A man who happened to be driving past saved her. What a hero. He shone his headlights at the bear and it ran across the road. He even dented his car’s wing hitting it.’
Bear population rise and investigation launched
A 10-day ‘state of high alert’ was declared in the village following the attack, and tents are now prohibited from being pitched in the area. According to local news, the bear remains at large. A representative of the Mayminsky District Society of Hunters and Fishermen commented on the rise of the bear population in the area, saying: ‘The hunting season was shortened to 30 days. Because of this, the bear population has begun to increase. Hunters simply can’t keep up with their licenses. There’s little hunting, the bears are reproducing, and the food supply is scarce — nuts are scarce — so they simply come out to hunt people when they’re hungry.’ The Altai Republic prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into Korolyova’s death.
