Bear attack
IN PHOTO: Two brown bears attack a "visitor" dummy made of straw, during a security drill to test the capability of emergency handling at a zoo in Chengdu, Sichuan province June 19, 2014. The drill on Thursday demonstrated a mock situation of two visitors falling into the enclosure of brown bears, according to local media. Picture taken June 19, 2014. Reuters/Stringer

A woman was sent to a hospital and in critical condition after sustaining multiple injuries from a bear attack on Monday. Natalya Pasternak was gathering wood and walking her dog when a bear came to attack her, Russian news reported.

Pasternak, a 55-year old who works at the post office, was collecting birch sap in Tynda forest in the Amur region when the attack happened. Her unnamed companion at that time was able to escape and get help.

When rescuers arrived, the bear started attacking them as well but was eventually shot dead. According to BBC News, wildlife expert Sergei Ivanov reported to the government daily paper, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, that he shot the bear-a female approximately aged 4 years old- “when it leapt towards us out of a ravine, in a rage.”

The bear reportedly attacked the dog first before turning its attention to Pasternak, who sustained multiple serious injuries to her head, arms, and thighs. After the bear was shot, they found Pasternak’s body, buried underneath a pile of soil and leaves with her hand protruding, according to the Siberian Times.

Rescuers cleared the pile and found Pasternak, still alive, but badly injured. Some reports say that she was buried because the bear wanted to save her as its meal for later. "Nearby we found the woman, which the bear had already managed to cover with earth. She was conscious, with many wounds on her body, and the bear had scalped her," said Ivanov in the daily paper.

BBC news also reports that experts have taken a tissue sample from the dead animal and was sent for analysis, to see if the bear had an infection that caused it to behave so aggressively. Tynda residents told reporters that there were occasional bear sightings in the area in the past.

Russian media sources reports that Pasternak was in deep shock and is now in critical condition, fighting for her life in Tynda hospital. Two of her adult children were on her bedside.

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