Astonishing footage shows how a pair of plucky dogs saved a man from being savaged by a bear.
The CCTV clip opens with the man checking his phone on an empty roadside in an urban area.
A bear walks into view from behind a row of shuttered businesses.
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It starts running towards the man, whose back is turned.
The man looks up from his phone and turns around as he hears the approaching paw steps.
After spotting the bear, he deftly moves out of the way as the fierce mammal bears its jaws.
But before it can run at him a second time, a pair of dogs come dashing down the road.
The bear begins sprinting away in fear as the much smaller pair of pooches pursue it.
The bizarre scenes unfolded in Kanker District in Chhattisgarh, India, on Thursday (21 Nov) morning.
Local reports say bears are often spotted roaming around neighbourhoods in the district.
The forests surrounding Kanker are home to a large bear population, as reported by Need To Know.
It’s believed a lack of food and water in the woods forces them to venture into urban areas in search of sustenance.
This is despite the state forest department establishing a 30,000-hectare bear habitat and roaming area in 2014-15.
As part of the project, guava, plum, and jamun trees were planted in the hills to provide food for the bruins.
But the trees failed to bear fruit, leading the bears to seek food in the cities and towns.
Locals are reportedly terrified about their presence and are pleading with the authorities to fix the issue.
