A fisherman escaped a brown bear's fatal blow by ‘playing dead’ and then unbelievably driving himself to hospital, say reports in Russia.

Despite the bear's devastating attack which tore the skin off his scalp and left bite wounds on his leg and arms, the man made his own way to get treated.

According to local media, the man had been illegally fishing for salmon along the River Lyutoga on the east coast Russian island of Sakhalin, just north of Japan.

A blow to the head knocked the unnamed man out but as he came round he remained still which was likely key to his survival.

A friend said: “He pretended to be dead, and finally the bear left. It was pure luck the predator didn’t bite into his neck.”

Bleeding, gashed and bitten, the fishermen then drove four miles to Aniva Central District Hospital.

A doctor said: "In all the history of bear attacks, we don’t remember a victim getting to the hospital by himself.”

The fisherman - not named - was treated in the surgical department, and received a rabies shot.

Locals say the man had been breaking strict local laws in fishing for masu salmon using nets.

“The bear acted like a fishing inspector,” said a local report.

The man has promised not to go fishing again after the attack.

In America on Sunday night a bear savagely mauled a man who found cubs in his garage when he went to lock it up.

The resident in Colorado suffered severe cuts to his head and legs on Sunday which landed him in hospital but is expected to survive.

Wildlife officials have issued a new warning for people in the area to keep food under lock and key, as a container of birdseed inside the garage likely attracted the beasts, NYPost reports.

The man was taken to hospital for surgery to the wounds sustained in the attack but was expected to survive, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said in a statement released Monday.

The man who lives near Steamboat Springs spotted his garage door open at around 11pm on Sunday, it was when he went to close it that he was set upon.

Inside was a mother bear and her two cubs.

The statement by CPW said: "As the man attempted to slowly back away from the garage, the sow attacked."

Wildlife officials and park rangers tracked down and killed the mother bear whose body has been sent to a lab for a necropsy.

With her cubs still on the loose, officials are looking to trap and relocate them.

Locals say the man had been breaking strict local laws in fishing for masu salmon using nets.

“The bear acted like a fishing inspector,” said a local report.

The man has promised not to go fishing again after the attack.

ClitRaider:
Wish a brown bear should attack the old vegetable cow.

Designandbuild1:
I watched The Revenant where Leonardo DiCaprio was attacked by a bear and even though it was a movie it was scary. Bears are really savage beasts. I don't know whose idea it was to make teddy bear a sleeping companion. There's nothing cute or gentle about a bear I tell you.

decatalyst:

Calm down. That will never happen.

We don't have bear in Nigeria.

mansakhalifa:
The bear probably went to the river to fish for salmons too and then caught sight of a total stranger doing the same thing that it had come to do- fishing. This must have prompted the attack. Very, very likely. Now, that's tantamount to trespassing. No wild animal likes that. You don't come between them and their food.

It probably did not also help that the man was also fishing for salmons as this is a species of fish much sort after by bears. They need to binge on dozens of salmon daily to keep their calories and fat level up ahead of hibernation.

gasparpisciotta:
At least the prick is still working fine

gasparpisciotta:
At least the prick is still working fine

ogbiwa:


https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/vicious-bear-rips-fishermans-scalp-24231617