A fearless man stood his ground and hurled insults at a bear after coming face to face with the wild animal.
Shocking CCTV footage shows him walking along a road at night when the powerful mammal suddenly came charging towards him.
Startled, the man fell onto his backside.
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The adult bear briefly stopped in front of him and rose onto its hind legs before turning away.
But instead of running for his life, the man climbed back to his feet and began shouting abuse at the animal as it retreated out of view.
He then turned his anger on a passing motorist whose headlights appeared to have startled the bear.
The man continued standing his ground as the mother bear’s cubs, which had wandered onto the road, retreated back into the grass.
The extraordinary encounter took place in Ivdel, in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, earlier this week, as reported by Need To Know.
At one point during his tirade, the man could be heard yelling: “What the hell are you doing, you bastard!”
According to local reports, nobody was injured, and the bears left the town as suddenly as they had appeared.
According to Ivdel’s mayor, it was not the first time the same mother bear and her cubs had been spotted in the town.
The family had previously been seen near a cemetery and in other residential areas.
Local authorities have now applied for a permit to take action, fearing it is only a matter of time before someone is injured.
Until then, patrols are using loud noises to drive the bears out of built-up areas.
Russian ecologist Dmitry Lisitsyn has urged people not to walk alone in forests, saying bears are more likely to retreat when they encounter a larger group.
He also advised people not to try to attract a bear’s attention or run away.
If the animal has not noticed you, he told local media, the safest course is to slowly back away and leave the area.
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