The "victim's" original account, reported by Maaleht, was that he had been pulled from his bike, and was only rescued by a passing motorist, who honked their horn.

The story could have had further ranging consequences in that hunting lobbyists have been calling for a widened bear cull, amid claims of rising numbers.

Local huntsman: Bear 'pulled victim off his bike'

Maaleht on Tuesday this week reported the incident took place at around 8 p.m. last Friday, April 10, in Väike-Maarja municipality, Lääne-Viru County, two kilometers from the small town of Väike-Maarja itself and in a forested area.

Jaan Villak, executive director of the Rakvere hunting club, said the man was cycling along the highway toward Triigi village to the southeast, when "a bear came up to him and started following him, ultimately pulling him off his bike – it was only when a passing vehicle honked its horn that the bear fled, and up to then the hapless cyclist had been trying to fend off the attack as best he could with a bag he was carrying."

The man's clothes and backpack were torn, Villak added, noting that while injured, he did not require hospitalization.

However, no video was published of the incident itself, and Tanel Türna, head of the hunting and aquatic life bureau at the Environmental Board, noted that while he understands that media reports of a possible bear attack may frighten people and cause concern, his agency at the moment "has no proof of a bear attack, and the authority does not know the exact circumstances."

Investigations will be ongoing before any special hunting permit is issued, he added.

The victim of the reported attack, named Raido, also spoke to Virumaa teataja and said he would likely not go to the store in Väike-Maarja by bike again, instead opting to go "either by bus or with a friend," and adding that he "definitely doesn't want to go through that again" after getting away with just a ripped jacket and bruised back.

Raido was unable to say how long his roadside struggle with the bear lasted, noting that the driver whose appearance scared off the animal stopped and offered help, which was not need though: "I even pointed out to the driver that the bear was watching from a distance."

Raido was able to cycle home, saying the backpack he was wearing likely saved him from worse injuries, adding he even found a bear paw-print on a packet of biscuits he had been carrying, though again there was no photographic evidence of this; Raido said he planned to burn the torn jacket as it brought back bad memories for him.

The local municipal mayor Indrek Kesküla noted that the area is rural, meaning residents live surrounded by nature, and adding he has himself seen bear cubs while out cycling.

Occupant of the car: We saw only a heavily intoxicated man, but no bear

Maaleht later in the week caught up with one of the occupants of the car which encountered Raido at the roadside and who he had said saved the day, but they painted a different picture of what had happened.

Kaisa Hansar-Aas said she and her son were passengers in a car being driven by her husband towards Triigi and from Väike-Maarja at around 8:15 p.m. that same Friday, telling Postimees they saw no signs of a bear, only of "a heavily intoxicated man."

While, Kaisa noted, she has in recent years repeatedly seen bears in the area, including a mother bear with several cubs, in this case "We did not see a bear," adding "we did not sound the horn either," another part of Raido's original story.

Instead, all they saw on approaching the scene and stopping was "a man ... lying with his bicycle by the roadside ditch," who had "Russian music" playing "quite loudly" from his phone, and who on being asked if he was ok, answered that it was, "after which the man got up onto his knees," Kaisa said.

He next "started waving his hands and shouting loudly that a bear had attacked him and jumped on his back," Kaisa went on, indicating to the patch of nearby forest that the bear was still in the area.

While Kaisa's husband was unable to see any signs of a bear on closer inspection of the wooded area, Kaisa added "the man was incoherent, smelled strongly of alcohol, and was unable to stand up on his own," though after being helped up was able to stay on his feet and use the bike to lean on as he walked.

Although Kaisa said there were no indications of any injuries, Raido showed TV3 the "wounds" on his arm which he said had been caused by the bear's claws.

As to whether he might have been a bit worse for the wear at the time, Raido said "By the evening I was sober already when I went to the store," adding: "earlier in the morning I had had a little, yes."

Postimees on Saturday reported that Raido had not taken the media attention or the incident itself well, chancing his phone number and acting uncharacteristally anxiously at home, in Triigi itself.

Raido had repeated the bear attack story when arriving home, the paper reported.

Last bear culling season less than half fulfilled

Estonia's large carnivore management plan calls for a baseline brown bear population of at least 70 bear litters with cubs, but autumn 2024 estimates put the figure at 112, while in the most recent culling season, 28 animals from a quota of 71 were hunted.

At the end of September 2025, the Tallinn Circuit Court suspended the 2025-26 bear hunting order as an interim measure following an application filed by Eesti Suurkiskjad, an NGO which protects large carnivores and whose director, Eleri Lopp, says that bear hunting must always be strictly justified and in line with the European Union Habitats Directive, which it has not always been.

At the beginning of March 2026, it emerged that the Ministry of Climate plans to amend the hunting regulations, in order to bring the rules more closely into line with nature conservation and real-life circumstances, with bear hunting to become entirely permit-based.

What should you do in the event of a bear attack?

The Environmental Board (Keskkonnaamet) notes in cases like that described in Väike-Maarja, often, a bear is simply trying to assess the situation, sometimes needing to stand up to get a better view of its surroundings. In general, the animal's aim is not to attack a person, but to extricate itself from what it sees as a dangerous situation. Even so-called bluff charges, where a bear rushes toward a person only to stop at the last minute, are usually intended as a warning, though with an adult male weighing 200–400 kilograms, this is easier to write about than deal with.

If the worst comes to the worst and the bear follows through on an attack, the advice given by the Environmental Board is never to run, as this may trigger the bear's instinct to chase, and in any case bears can easily outrun humans over short distances.

You should also not make eye contact. You should instead lie still and cover your neck and head with your hands, playing dead where possible. The attack will usually end once the bear feels that the threat has passed.

If you encounter a bear cub, regardless of how "cute" it may appear, you must back away slowly in the direction you came from: A protective mother will usually be nearby.

When walking dogs in the forest and natural environment, these should be kept on a leash at all times.

Naturally, the best precaution is to avoid bear encounters in the first place, which can be done by not shying away from making a noise while out in the forest, and heeding tell-tale signs like broken trees, claw marks and spoor. Ultimately the animals are shy of human contact.

Zoologist Aleksei Turovski told Postimes a young bear may be hungry in spring and as a result bolder about approaching people.

If the encounter really did occur in the way Raido described it, Turovski added that as well as the movement triggering the chasing instinct, his riding a bicycle may have made him appear smaller to any bear in the area , noting: "Animals judge how dangerous an opponent is primarily by their vertical size."

As a predator, a bear will often attack from behind, Turovski noted, knocking the prey to the ground before attempting to bit the prey on the neck, at the base of the skull, as the surest way of killing the victim.

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