On 23 May, two engineers from the Austrian train company ÖBB, found a bear cub dead on the train tracks. It seemed like he was run over by a train the night before. The incident however did not impair train traffic.
According to a local expert on bears, the nature of the cub’s injuries clearly show that the train collision was the cause of death. One of the bear’s hind legs got severed and the cub suffered major head injuries. Austrian media ORF reports that the cub was still very young and only weighed around 100 kilograms.
In order to confirm the cause of death the bear’s body will be transported to the Research Institute for Wildlife Science in Vienna for further examinations. They will also conduct a DNA test to determine where the little bear came from and whether it had been registered somewhere.
Bears are under strict animal control in Austria and they may not be shot.
