Greece’s largest ever recorded bear, a 390-kilo female, was sadly killed in a road accident on the Fotini-Stavropotamos rural road near Kastoria.
According to bear sanctuary Arcturos, the average size of adult male bears in Greece is usually about 250 kilos.
The bear was killed on Friday night when a car ran over the animal, in conditions that are still being investigated.
Arcturos was called in by the police and found the bear dead in a nearby field. The car involved in the accident suffered extensive damage and the driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
An autopsy on the bear revealed its extraordinary weight, which according to Arcturos expert Dr. Alexandros Karamanlidis was quite rare so far south.
"It is not unusual for bears that this time to put on a few extra kilos as they prepare for the winter sleep but we rarely come across such sizes in southern Europe. In more northern regions, such as Canada and Alaska where bears feed mainly on foods of animal origin, this number of kilos is normal," he said.
*Image by Arcturos
