STOCKHOLM, Sweden-
A Swedish hunting authority said Monday it had found no proof to confirm claims by a man who said a wild bear had attacked his three race horses during a practice run in central Sweden.
Coachman Bjorn Johansson told Swedish media his three trotting horses were attacked Sunday on a country road near the town of Ransater.
But wildlife authorities who inspected the location where Johansson said the attack took place could not find any traces of a bear, said Gunnar Gloersen of the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management.
“We have not been able to find anything that supports his story,” Gloersen told news agency TT.
One of the horses had minor scratches, which Johansson told media were caused by a bear attack, but Gloersen said they could have been caused by something else.
Neither Gloersen nor Johansson could be reached for comment late Monday.
Sweden’s bear population was nearly wiped out in the early 20th century but recovered after tougher hunting laws were introduced. Today there are an estimated 2,550 bears in the Scandinavian country, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
