Encounters with bears have become common in Romania, home to the largest brown bear population in Europe after Russia, estimated at 8.000 by the Ministry of Environment. While a census based on genetic samples is underway in the hope of obtaining reliable data on their numbers, the country is facing a growing number of attacks. "The biggest problem with bears is that they are extremely numerous, too few can be shot, they have multiplied excessively, they cause a lot of damage every year," explains cowherd Fekete Tibor. With bears venturing out of the forests looking for food, often from tourists, many are now protecting themselves with electric fences and calling for the authorisation to shoot more of the species protected by the European Union's habitats directive. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES