An 80-year-old man fights a bear in hand-to-paw cambat and survives

Yusuf Alchagirov, 80, is a shepherd in Kabardino-Balkaria, a region of Russia near the Georgian border. A bear attacked him in a raspberry field last week. Mr. Alchagirov took it in good Russian humor and repaid the favor with a barrage and kicks and headbutts, knocking it off balance. But the bear came back for more treatment:

The bear, apparently irritated by the feisty shepherd, tossed him off a cliff and sauntered away, said Alchagirov in an interview with local television. He was hospitalized with bruises, bite wounds and four broken ribs, but was spared a mauling, and released within a few days. It is not known whether the bear suffered any lasting injuries.

Mercifully, Mr. Alchagirov decided not to pursue the bear as it fled the scene. Local residents aren’t doing so either. After all, the bear was just playing:

In the most recent case, locals believed the bear was probably only playing with Alchagirov, Russian media said, and thus were not planning to track down the animal.