An 81-year-old hunter named Andre Rives is facing trial for killing a protected brown bear that attacked him in the Pyrenees while boar hunting. During his confrontation with the bear, which was accompanied by cubs, Rives described the harrowing moment he was dragged and bitten before he shot the animal in self-defense. The trial raises questions about the legality of the hunters' presence in a nature reserve, as a police investigation revealed the bear was killed outside the authorized hunting area.
"I had no choice but to face a bear that was going to eat me," he told a court in France, explaining that he had been targeted by the cubs' mother. The pensioner said he was grabbed and dragged by the bear as he tried to fight her off.
"Our eyes met and then she charged me," he told the court. She grabbed my left thigh, I panicked and fired a shot from my rifle.
The police investigation found that the bear, named Caramelle, was killed 400 metres outside of the authorised hunting area, according to Le Parisien.
The hunters were questioned about why they were in a nature reserve, and argued the markings were not clear.
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