Protective Mother Bear Cuts Off Access to Dracula’s Castle

Romanian authorities have closed a 13th-century fortress connected to Vlad the Impaler after a mother bear and her cubs were found roaming in the area.

Romanian authorities have declared Poenari castle off limits after visitors climbing the 1,480 steps up to the ruins had close encounters with the animal and her three cubs.

The citadel was repaired by 15th-century Romanian prince Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic novel Dracula. Bran Castle, also associated with Dracula, is another huge tourist attraction in Romania.

“The environment ministry has given us the green light for the four bears to be captured and moved elsewhere,” local official Emilian Dragnea said in a statement. “But we still have to decide where to remove them to,” he added.

Authorities blame people for leaving food in the area, which attracts the bears.

In 2014 a senior politician from the Transylvanian region called for the army to be brought in to deal with the growing number of bears, following a string of cases involving damage to private property.