A man from Karigasniemi (Fins Lapland) has been injured in the forest last Tuesday when a fellow-hunter mistook him for a bear and shot him in the thigh. The men formed a party of 4 elk hunters. The shooter was alarmed by a sudden noise and thought it was a bear.  Hij did not hesitate and fired in the direction of the noise, which turned out to be caused by his colleague. The shooter and the other hunters immediately attended to the victim. The wounded hunter has been brought to hospital. The police is investigating the incident, in which alcohol does not seem to have played any part.

Earlier this month a similar incident took place in the USA, where a hunter killed a man after he mistook him for a bear. This incident took place in Silver Creek Falls Park in the west of Oregon. 20-year old Christopher Ochoa wore dark clothing when Gene Collier, out hiking with his 12-year old grandson, saw something move in the bushes. The 67-year old hunter fired immediately, only to find out later he had made an enormous mistake. Ochoa was alive when help arrived, but later died of his injuries. Collier is not being prosecuted because authorities believe it was an accident.