A video clip, recorded by a mobile phone, sparked panic among the residents of the Turkish state of Yozgat, located in the center of the country, after it documented the appearance of a predator in one of the regions of the state while it was walking alone before it disappeared from sight, while the authorities announced that they had started searching for it after being informed of the presence of a bear that was wandering in the area. area at dawn.
The captured video shows the bear wandering in the Sorgun region of Yozgat at dawn today, Sunday, before disappearing from sight for several hours after the video was captured, which was widely circulated on social media in Turkey.
Yozgat’ın Sorgun ilçesine Bedirbaba Mahallesi’ne inen ayı, cep telefonuyla görüntülendi.
– Yeni Şafak (@yenisafak) March 19, 2023
It was not known whether this predatory animal had managed to escape from the zoo or was homeless, but the authorities were able to find it hours ago after the residents asked for help in arresting it for fear that it would attack them.
The owner of the video clip was driving his bus when he saw the bear in the middle of the street, but he disappeared from view, which prompted the driver of the vehicle to seek help and tell them where the bear appeared.
Turkey suffers from the problem of stray animals, an issue that was exacerbated after the earthquake that hit the country on the sixth of last February, as this forced organizations concerned with animal affairs to stop working.
In July 2021, the Turkish Parliament approved legislation to protect both domestic and wild animals.
Under that law, the authorities impose a prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 Turkish liras (equivalent to about $2,700) against anyone who intentionally violates animal rights or intentionally kills or tortures them.
Stray dogs are a major problem in Istanbul, the capital, Ankara, and Izmir, as they take to the streets at night. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on municipalities more than once to collect these dogs in designated shelters, but this has not happened so far.
While passers-by try to escape from stray dogs when they encounter them, this may lead to death or serious injury when they run from dogs towards main streets, as they are hit by speeding cars, as happened in Istanbul more than once during the past 2022.
