Student Dragged From Tent And Attacked By Bear During Expedition

A student was given a rude awakening on an expedition in Russia when a brown bear ripped open his tent and tried to drag him into a forest.

Nikolay Maksimov was on an international scientific expedition to Lake Kisi, in the far east of Russia, when the bear attacked him at around 4am on 1 July.

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The 22-year-old MA student screamed as the bear dragged him away by the shoulder - with his tent-mate desperately trying to cling onto his leg all the while.

Fortunately, Mr Maksimov's cries alerted other members of the expedition who fired shots into the air. The predator then released Mr Maksimov and was shot dead.

Mr Maksimov was airlifted to hospital from the remote site and was treated for a series of cuts and gashes on his shoulder and arm. Indeed, it was lucky his injuries weren't more severe, as the helicopter didn't arrive until 10 hours after the attack due to bad weather.

According to the Siberian Times, Mr Maksimov said: "I was asleep in the tent when the bear attacked. It was pulling me into the taiga [forest] as other expedition members woke up."

Vasily Kolodeznikov, director of the Institute of Natural Sciences, part of Russia's North-Eastern Federal University, said it was unusual for the bear to go straight for a person when there was food nearby.

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He said: "Expedition members who slept in other tents heard the screams and rushed out to help. They shot twice in the air, the bear got scared and let go of Nikolay. Then the bear was shot dead.

"It was strange that the bear ignored the tent with all the expedition food and went straight for the people."

It could have been a lot worse though for Mr Maksimov, who is now back at university.

Last month, a schoolgirl in Russia was savaged to death by a brown bear on her way to the shops. Sonya Chernigova's mutilated body was found in the centre of Yodva village in Komi republic. Initially it was thought she had been attacked by wolves, before brown bear footprints were found at the scene.

The 14-year-old sustained extensive wounds to her neck and head, which was nearly completely severed by deep bites. Her hair was also ripped out by the bear and her wounds were so severe that her dad, Sergey Chernigov, did not recognise her.

Topics: World News, Animals, Russia

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

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