Two drunk Russian men decided it would be a good idea to attack a hibernating bear with a chainsaw…causing it to flee her den and leave her tiny cubs.
The Himalayan cubs were found by hunting experts who were patrolling a forest in the Anuchinsky district in the Far East of Russia.
The young animals were abandoned by their mother who got scared off by a group of woodcutters.
Police have established the identities of the men who disturbed the bear, but not released their names. An official investigation has started.
It is not clear how many men were responsible for disturbing the animals.
One of the locals familiar with the case spoke to VladNews website and claimed that the woodcutters were drunk.
‘The guys got drunk after cutting logs and went for a walk about the woods,’ said the source.
‘They came across a den and thought it would be a great idea to wake up the bear.
‘They didn’t succeed at first, but then the mother bear woke up, got out and lashed aggressively at them.
‘The men defended themselves with a chainsaw, wounding the bear which fled the spot.’
The Siberian Times was told by Dmitry Pankratov from the regional department for Wildlife Control, Protection and Regulation that the mother bear survived the encounter.
‘We confirm that these two cubs were abandoned by their mother who got scared by the woodcutters.
‘The mother bear is alive, but she never came back to the den’, he said.
