The announcement raised scepticism among activists, who slam the government for increasingly allowing bear hunting in the country, home to Europe's largest brown bear population outside Russia.

Authorities have frequently argued in recent years that the bear population has became too large, as attacks on humans and lovestick have increased.

Less than two weeks ago, a man was severely hurt by a bear in a mountain resort in Romania. He remains in critical condition.

The new preliminary figures are taken from a genetic census done in the country, using more than 24,000 samples, including faeces and hair.

Previously, bear prints were counted to give an estimate of the population.

The new study -- launched in 2021, with the EU contributing 11 million euros ($12 million) in financing -- concluded between 10,419 and 12,770 brown bears live in Romania, while authorities say the optimal number is 4,000.

"We can state for the first time in the history of Romania with a solid scientific basis how many bears we have in the forest," environment minister Mircea Fechet told a press conference.

He added that measures are needed to make it easier to prevent bears reaching communities and putting lives of people in danger.

One proposal is to give more flexibility to mayors to decide what to do with the animals.

Romania will also again ask the European Union to remove bears from the list of strictly protected species, Fechet said.

Cristian-Remus Papp from the World Wide Fund for Nature Romania said he was surprised by the big number announced by the government, criticising a lack of transparency from the Romanian authorities about the genetic study.

"There are a lot of unknowns about this study," he told AFP.

In 2024, Romania allowed the killing of almost 500 bears -- double 2023's cull -- after a young hiker was mauled to death on a popular trail in Romania's Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania.

The actual number killed was around 400, according to the environment ministry.

Over the past two decades, bears have killed 26 people in Romania and seriously hurt 274, according to 2024 data.

In 2023, 7,500 emergency calls related to bears were recorded.