A brave farmer fought off a giant bear in a horrific three-hour
battle that left him covered in blood with huge scars across his face.
The
victim has astonished medics by surviving the massive head injuries
caused in the prolonged attack similar to Leonardo DiCaprio's
heart-stopping animal assault in The Revenant .
Jube
Valanti Adveppache had been picking mushrooms in one of his fields in
southern India when the bear attacked without warning.
The
58-year-old later told wildlife officials and police how the animal,
which was believed to be a sloth bear or Melursus ursinus, pounced on
him without warning and would not let him go.
The bear kept breaking off
the attack and then starting again, and the recovering man says it was
three hours before it seemed convinced it had killed him.
After the attack, he moved off into the forests around Haliyal in Karnataka State.
Mr Adveppache told officials he staggered nearly three miles, bleeding heavily, to get back to his village.
Hospital officials say he has been transferred from an intensive care unit to another hospital to recover.
A medic told local media: "He is out of immediate danger."
Horrific photos of Mr Adveppache's injuries reveal horrific scars on the man’s head where the bear mauled him.
One eye is closed and swollen, a thick scar from the bear's fearsome claws runs down the side of his nose.
His face and his head are covered in other cuts and bruises.
