PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – A fisherman in Russia’s far east has been hospitalized after being mauled by a brown bear, the local Interior Ministry said Monday.
The man, 32, used his hunting knife to fend off the bear, the ministry’s statement said.
He was hospitalized with injuries to his hands, arms, legs and face, but his life is not in any danger, the statement said.
It was not immediately clear what provoked the attack.
The interior ministry statement notes that, after the attack, the bear retreated back into the forest, and urges any locals planning to go out into the woods to be careful.
In June, a man in the region died when he was shot by a friend who was aiming at a bear that was attacking them, local police said at the time.
In May, local authorities shot and killed two bears that were found digging up graves at a local cemetery after waking up hungry from hibernation, local media reported.
Kamchatka brown bears are considered the largest in the world, growing up to 2.5 meters in length, standing 3 meters tall on their hind legs and weighing up to 700 kilograms.
There are thought to be about 18,000 bears on the peninsula.
