One reason motorcyclists love doing what we do is that we are riding through nature rather than watching it go by from inside an air-conditioned cage. But there are limits to how close we should get to said nature. One Italian rider got a bit too close to a bear and lost his life as a result.
The incident occurred on the famous Transfagarasan Highway. This mountain road is like a roller coaster with its turns and elevation changes, making it a well-known favorite of Jeremy Clarkson and a bucket list road of our own Andy Kalmowitz. According to Observator News, a 48-year-old motorcyclist stopped to feed the bears several times along his journey; The Independent has identified him as Omar Farang Zin. His most recent Facebook post from July 2, 2025, has several photos of bears along the nearby Transalpina highway, including a selfie with one. Observator News reports that Zin was actively taking pictures and video of the bear that killed him near the Vidraru Dam, and that he offered the bear food. Authorities found his phone nearby.
Please don’t feed the animals
The Transfagarasan area has become quite popular with bears as well as humans, leading to inevitable clashes. Overpopulation has become a problem, leading to the bears depleting natural food sources and turning to humans who voluntarily feed them instead. Feeding the bears has become a popular activity, despite warning signs, fines, and it being a generally bad idea. The bears have gotten quite used to people and walk right up to them fearlessly. The Romanian government already doubled the number of annual permitted bear kills last year, and is considering removing their protected status altogether to try and get the population under control.
These measures wouldn’t be necessary if people would just stop feeding the bears. The population would naturally drop back to a sustainable level, and the bears that remain would have no reason to approach and attack humans for food, making the area safer for everyone. Bears may look cute, but they’re still wild animals, and wild animals of any species may attack at any time without warning. Just ask Boris Johnson. As the National Park Service says, “Don’t pet the fluffy cows.”
