Bear watching in Romania is an experience not to be missed. We spent two days in the incredible bear hides of Hargita Bear Lodge, Sub Cetate..
Where to Find Bears in Romania
Romania has the largest population of Eurasian brown bears in Europe. Estimates of their numbers range from 5000-8000. Their habitat is 250,000 hectares of uninterrupted virgin forest that stretches through the Southern Carpathian Mountains. Whilst there are bears throughout the Southern Carpathians, Harghita county has almost a third of Romania’s bear population living in its mountains of beech forests. We knew before we started our road trip that bear watching was top of our priorities. We reached out to Saker Tours who we used for our Danube Delta experience and also partner with Hargita Bear Lodge.
The Lodge and their guides manage a large private area of forest near the village of Sub Cetate. By managing the forest they are conserving the bear population. Ensuring amongst other things that they have enough food within the forest to not cause trouble with the local villages and farmers in the area. Conservations believe that a healthy bear population equals a healthy forest as many other species of mammals, birds and plant life co-exist in this virgin forest. The lodge has three excellent bear hides within the area. They also have a bird photography hide right next to the lodge and deer roaming around the garden. The perfect Transylvanian wildlife experience
The Bear Watching Experience
I had no idea what to expect from bear watching or the hides themselves. Chris was just fairly certain that we had a high chance of seeing bears. On our first day, we were taken to one of the closer hides which was about 20min drive from the lodge. We arrived and were settled in one half of the hide, which had low chairs and some sponge blocks to lean on. The guides then spread a bucket of food around the clearing in front of the hide. We had the windows lifted which was better for photography and were told if the bears came and left we should put in down as they might have smelt or heard us. The guides then drove off saying they would be back at sunset!
We hunkered in for the afternoon and started listening to the sounds of the forest. Every rustle of the leaves had us leaning forward, eyes scanning the trees for signs of a bear. The birds were quick to sample the food before the bears arrived. A charm of chaffinches was soon feasting on the fat and seeds that had been rubbed into one of the logs. An hour later, and still no sign of a bear. I am cursing my new wax cotton jacket for being far too rustly as Chris keeps frowning at me every time I fidget!
My eye catches some movement on the far side of the clearing. We see a gorgeous red fox with a brushy tail tentatively emerge from the forest, scanning the clearing for any dangers. The fox lingers for a while and then slopes off back into the forest. Suddenly the trees are parting near us, less than 50m from the hide. A female brown bear strolls into the clearing, takes a look around and then sits down for some tasty grains! After hours of waiting, like that she appears, and is not in a rush to move on. She explores the meadow, coming closer and closer to the hide as she finds pockets of seeds and nuts to munch on in the grass. Before we know it the light is falling and the guides are knocking on the door, to take us back to the lodge.
Brown Bear
Hargita Bear Lodge
On arriving back at the lodge we are greeted with a warm fire and a decanter of plum brandy. This family-run lodge is an introduction to the charms of Transylvanian hospitality. Dinner is a delicious home-cooked meal of three courses. A hearty runner bean soup, followed by a delicious meat stew with pasta. Desert was a fruity traybake. It was so big I squirrelled some of it away for a morning snack to enjoy with my coffee at the bird hide before breakfast the next morning.
Morning Companions, Hargita Lodge Bird Hide
Eurasian Jay
The second day we went to a more remote and our favourite hide. An hours drive on a dirt track through the forest and up into the mountains. The hide is on the edge of a grassy clearing with a stream running through it and a pond right in front of the hide. The clearing has an automatic feeder rigged that every day at 3pm starts spinning and nuts and seeds shoot out. We were told that it took two years for the bears to get used to this feeding ground and come check for food. But they certainly come now.
We had six different bears on and off all afternoon. First were a mother and two cubs. The cubs are curious always exploring poking at insects, sniffing the air, tussling with each other. Suddenly they rise up, standing on their hind legs sniffing the air. Another female wanders into the clearing. They seem familiar as the Mother bear looks up, notices the other female and goes back to her lunch.
A short while later the branches start moving right next to the hide and a young bear cautiously emerges with another following behind. Siblings, but no Mother to be seen. They are much more skittish than the other two young, barely daring to venture into the meadow.
Quite content to search the mud in front of us for some tasty insects. Then roll around for a good old back scratch.
We arrived back at the lodge elated with the afternoon we had just had, picking through the memories of the bear families. We were met by the team from Saker Tours who were just finishing a 7-day gruelling recce trip. Searching out the mammals of Romania, as a potential new tour to offer. One of the upsides for them to the lack of tourism due to the pandemic was that they could take time to explore and plan new trips. We swapped stories over dinner and picked their brains for wildlife and nature tips for our Romanian road trip that we were just starting. One of their top tips was Turda Gorge, one of our top 5 hikes in Romania
Then we learnt that that evening they were going searching for a pack of wolves that had been spotted locally the night before. The wolves were out of the forest as it was rutting season for the deer, easy targets. The thought was suggested that we should stay another day, and if they found the wolves, we could see them tomorrow night. Before I knew it Chris and I had decided to stay one more night. #YOLO
Finding Wolves, Harghita Mountains
The next morning we were coming back from the bird hide and the van was just pulling in. The guides piled out, pumped with adrenalin. They had found the pack of six wolves and watched them hunt and kill a deer around sunrise. A farmer had scared them off as he was going about his usual tasks with no idea what had happened nearby. The plan became firm. We would spend the afternoon at the bear hide. Then would go straight to the spot where the deer had been left half-devoured by the wolves. Who would be expected back to finish their kill when it got dark.
At dusk, we jumped in the van with the crew and their thermo-vision scope and went looking for the wolves. We stopped a distance of 300m from the carcass but with a clear view and waited. As the light dropped we scoped a hare, some dear, and even a mouse on the verge of the road. Then we spotted the dog-like shapes moving along the hedge line. Sure enough, the wolves were back four of them converged on the carcass. Incredible, we watched until the light dropped and we couldn’t get closer.
Back to the Lodge for a celebratory dinner. Followed by a midnight soak in the wood-fired hot tub under the stars. We were fortunate to spend time with this amazing group of guides and wildlife enthusiasts. And share a special moment when they were all together seeking out the hidden wildlife of Romania.
