"They love bears, these city people, they don't care about us villagers," he added, complaining about local authorities and environmentalists who would not allow a cull of the bear population.

Bulgaria is home to between 600 and 800 brown bears, one of the largest populations in Europe, according to environmentalists, while hunting unions put the numbers at around 1,000.

As a protected species, the brown bear is banned from being hunted unless a special permit is obtained from the authorities.

Bulgarian bears are rarely aggressive and would rather run away from people than attack, experts insist.

But the killing in mid-May of Nikola Shikov, a 65-year-old villager who knew his way around the woods, plunged Kutela, perched on the steep slopes of the country's southern Rhodope mountains, into panic.

Shikov was found dead in the forest just 500 metres (yards) from the tiny community of 400 residents, with multiple fractures and wounds, his face horribly disfigured.

Fears were fueled by two more attacks this week in the region, though neither was fatal -- yet.

Galina Ivanova, 64, however, was fighting for her life with multiple injures after a bear lunged at her on Wednesday while she was picking mushrooms near the village of Malka Arda, just east of Kutela, regional officials said.

They said the bear stripped the skin off the back of her head and clawed at her entire body before Ivanova's sister managed to scare off the beast by shouting and throwing rocks.

The day before, 56-year-old Boyan Dimitrov had a close call also picking mushrooms near the village of Borovina, in the same region. The Focus news agency, quoting the local mayor, said a bear struck Dimitrov but the blow sent him rolling down a steep gully, which saved his life.

In Kutela and nearby villages, where people's livelihood is often limited to logging, raising cows and picking herbs and mushrooms, locals told AFP they were now scared to go into the forest.

"We're not against bears being a protected species. But they are breeding like crazy and this has to be regulated in some way," said 36-year-old Biser, a Kutela villager who gave only his first name but said his mother was once chased by a bear.

The authorities' greenlight to shoot the bear that attacked Shikov will not solve the problem, he added. And with the further attacks, authorities now question whether the animal that was killed was indeed the "killer" bear.

In Smolyan district, some 150 bears roam the forests and regularly attack beehives and livestock, according to the chief of the regional environment inspection agency Elen Minchev.

The killing in Kutela was the first in decades however, he said.

-- 'Imagine meeting it face to face' --

---------------------------------------

Local authorities and environmentalists insist there has been no recent boom in the bear population.

But they have now joined forces to appease the worried villagers, instructing them on how to avoid accidents, protect their herds and beehives, apply for compensation, and even attract tourists.

"Much of the damage can... be avoided if only people remember to make an effort to protect their livestock in bear-populated regions -- keep shepherd dogs, build fences and never leave their herds unattended," said Diana Zlatanova from the Balkani wildlife society.

Brochures advising how to avoid encounters with bears and what to do in the event of one, will also be distributed in high-risk areas over the coming months.

A joint project by Balkani and the environment ministry is already distributing free electric fences to beekeepers in Smolyan and the nearby town of Devin.

Vasil Chavdarov from the tiny village of Breze told AFP he was "calmer" now that his beehives were equipped with an electric fence, although he still spoke of the bears with awe.

"I used to sleep here every night for two months, kept a fire and packs of firecrackers to scare the bears away," said the 78-year-old, who had nine beehives wrecked by bears in four separate attacks over the past years.

"I am happy that the bear does not come to do mischief any more."

"It gives me chills only to mention its name, I cannot imagine meeting it face to face in the forest," he added.

Meanwhile, local hunters were taking another approach and trying to convince reluctant locals that they could cash in on the bears and boost tourism.

Much to the dismay of the locals, the hunters were already advertising pricey observation tours of bears, wild boars, deer and other animals.

But it will take time to overcome the tension over bears, following the Kutela killing.

"We entertain no illusions that we can defuse the tensions with brochures, especially in regions where people feel threatened," Svetlana Alajem, manager of an educational project about bears, told AFP.

"But it is a step in the right direction."

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