A brown bear that prowled outside Ulaanbaatar’s Bayanzurkh district stalked residents inside a traditional Mongolian ger, killing a man in his 40s and severely injuring a woman in her 50s. The attack took place overnight on Wednesday and left the man dead, while the woman managed to flee and alert neighbours. She has been taken to hospital in serious condition.
Police say the animal likely entered the open‑ended structure in search of food, a behaviour increasingly common as winter “climate change is making it harder for bears to find natural sources of nutrition” due to frosted fields and depleted fat reserves.
This incident is the 24th bear sighting reported near Ulaanbaatar this year, a steep rise from just two sightings in 2018. Videos of bears attacking livestock and entering shelters have gone viral on local social media, prompting authorities to warn residents to remain vigilant and to report any sightings immediately.
Mongolian officials have issued hunting permits across eight provinces and plan to supply tranquiliser dart guns to rangers working in rural areas. A city official, Munkhbayar M., told reporters that a dedicated team is already searching for the animal while advising people to avoid opening their gers in the evening.
Hunter and wildlife control specialists are also evaluating the need for new protocols in the rising human‑bear interaction environment, noting that Mongolia’s increasing urbanisation and the shifting of nomadic communities to settled agricultural areas may further exacerbate conflicts.
