Man tries to click selfie with injured bear, gets mauled to death

The victim spotted an injured bear when he went to the forest to attend nature's call and approached it to click a selfie with it. When he was too close, the bear chased him and mauled him to death.

Asian Black Bear — [Representational image]Wikimedia Commons

A man, who was trying to take a selfie with an injured bear in India's eastern state of Odisha, was mauled to death by the animal on May 2.

According to forest department officers, the deceased identified as Prabhu Bhatara was returning to Papadahandi town from Kotapad town.

Bhatara, ventured into the forest to attend nature's call. He then spotted an injured bear and decided to click a selfie with it, although his friends tried to warn him.

Forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohapatra, according to Hindustan Times, said that the bear chased Bhatara and mauled him to death.

The report also said that the other passengers in the SUV were busy shooting the incident on their phones rather than helping Bhatara. A stray dog tried to fight the bear but could not save the victim. The forest officials were able to recover the body only Wednesday night, after tranquilising the bear.

"The bear is being treated for its injuries," Mohapatra said, according to the website.

Locals staged a protest demanding the authorities to pay a compensation to the victim's family after which forest officials assured that they would pay the money within 15 days. Meanwhile, Bhatara's family has been given Rs 30,000 ($448.95) for performing his last rites.

This is not the first time that people have died taking selfies. Last December, in Angul district, a youth was trampled by a wild elephant when he tried to take a selfie with it. It was reported that the tusker was irritated after being separated from his herd.