A bear was spotted near the reservoir in Debrešte, about 30 metres above the first houses. The warning did not come from an institution, but from the village's official Facebook profile.

„Residents are warned to be extremely careful, especially in the evening and early morning hours. Avoid moving around that area, do not let children out alone and watch your livestock. If you spot the bear, do not approach it and do not try to chase it away or photograph it up close,\" the post reads.

The advice is correct, and worth repeating

The two most dangerous reactions are exactly the ones people do instinctively: moving closer to film, and trying to drive the animal off. A bear that feels surrounded, or whose escape route has been cut off, is far more dangerous than a bear passing through.

Thirty metres is a distance that leaves no room for improvisation. That is a few seconds of walking for a bear.

Who is actually doing the warning

This is the part worth noting. The information that a wild animal is moving above the houses of a village was passed on by the village's Facebook page. Not an SMS from the municipality, not an announcement on local radio, not a statement from the responsible service.

It worked - the news reached residents and the media the same day. But it worked because somebody remembered to write a post, not because there is a system that kicks in when a bear turns up thirty metres from a settlement.

The question is simple: what happens in a village where no Facebook page exists, or where the older residents do not follow it? Their warning depends on whether a neighbour passes it on.

These encounters will get more frequent, not rarer

The brown bear is a strictly protected species and hunting it is banned. That means the solution to situations like this is not in a rifle but in prevention - managing waste around villages, protecting apiaries and livestock, and a predictable channel for informing residents.

One warning on Facebook is enough for one day. It is not a system.