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Swedish police in 'bear attack hoax' retreat

Published: 6 May 12 16:29 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/40664/20120506/

The 38-year-old man who claimed on Saturday that he had been attacked by a bear south of Gävle in eastern Sweden, has injuries which doctors believe were inflicted by an animal and police have now apologized for doubting his story.

It remained unclear on Sunday afternoon what type of animal was in fact involved in the attack which left the man nursing scratch and bite wounds.

"He is not suspected of any crime," said Ulf Sundgren at Gävleborg police to news agency TT.

A 38-year-old man reported to the police on Saturday that he had been attacked by a bear in the Glamsen area south of Gävle.

The police initially believed his story and dispatched a team of hunters to search the area for the bear. A warning was also issued to local residents.

Police called off the search for the bear at around 6pm on Saturday after consulting experts at the county administrative board. None of the deployed dogs had by that time detected any indication of a bear or other wild animal.

The man's wife had earlier confirmed that her husband had indeed sustained injuries while out on his walk.

"It is mostly scratches and the odd bite here and there," she told the Expressen daily.

But following a further interview with the man, the police discounted the claim that a wild animal was the cause of the injuries.

"We think he received his injuries in some other way," said Peter Hultqvist at Gävleborg police on Saturday evening.

The police have now performed a u-turn and have apologized that the man has been portrayed as unreliable.

TT/The Local/pvs (news@thelocal.se)

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18:21 May 6, 2012 by G Kin
An attention seeking man? :)

Oh just any case of "Swedish humour" like that case of the ugly black cake being mutilated to the amusement of Swedish people?.
23:03 May 6, 2012 by gpafledthis
why apologize ?? sounds like a "mythical" sweedie wife attack !! Hard to tell the difference from middle-aged sweedie wife attack and bear !!
01:09 May 7, 2012 by Harry Grouse
It sounds like this man wants to have a bear killed. He certainly was not mauled by a bear. Pure hypoctitical bull
02:56 May 7, 2012 by strixy
I doubt he would have survived a bear attack. Probably his own dog has turned on him ;)
05:43 May 7, 2012 by Frobobbles
It was likely a Wolverine. They are pretty rare, so most people would mistake them for a bear.
08:11 May 7, 2012 by entry
Only an idiot would mistake a wolverine for a bear. If by chance some idiot did mistake a tiny bear cub for a wolverine the momma bear which is always nearby would promptly end the encounter and we would never hear about it.
08:42 May 7, 2012 by karex
@entry. Perhaps the poor man is an idiot, you never know. I myself have never seen a wolverine and have no idea if I would think that it was a bear cub. However if I did encounter either, I would try to steer clear as in the case of the cub, I would also expect the mamma to be nearby. But are bear habits commonly known?
08:52 May 7, 2012 by entry
"But are bear habits commonly known?"

@kares Does a bear s--- in the woods?
10:35 May 7, 2012 by foxpur
@entry. I came across a wolverine when camping and mistook it for a small bear initially... and I'm very well educated and a high IQ, it didnt help. I took a few moments to observe and realized my mistake (having not seen many wolverine to compare) I wasn't sure what it was till I checked later. I had time and was not under attack. If he was attacked by a wolverine and did not get a good look, I can easily see the mistake.
10:53 May 7, 2012 by Reason abd Realism
If these dogs cannot find the scent of a bear, and if these are the same dogs who sniff for drugs, explosives, and fire arms at the Malmö border crossing, then we all have a lot to worry about.
11:57 May 7, 2012 by soultraveler3
I think he was wanting attention. There are pics of his wounds on Aftonbladet and they look like self-inflicted cuts from a razor blade or at worse cat scratches. Way too clean and small to be anything else.
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