After 19-year-old woman mauled to death, Romania authorizes the killing of nearly 500 bears

Romania's parliament on Monday approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in a bid to control the protected species' "overpopulation" after a deadly attack on a 19-year-old hiker sparked nationwide outcry.

Last week, local media reported that a 19-year-old female tourist — identified by the Daily Mail as Maria Diana — was attacked and killed by a bear while she was hiking with her boyfriend.

"From the information we have, the bear attacked the young woman on the trail, dragged her into the vegetation next to the trail, and somewhere in this vegetation dropped her into a chasm and fell there. The bear came down after her," Sabin Corniou, the head of Romania's mountain rescue services, told CNN's Antena 3.