Russian Mother's Daughter Calls About Bears Eating Her:(

[Demiurgas]

Caution! You are about to enter the Daily Mail Zone. Nevertheless, if this is true, it's beond words how sad and horrifying it is.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/1 ... k2%7C87690

In a second call to her mother, Moskalyova said, "Mum, the bears are back. She came back and brought her three babies. They're... eating me," The Daily Mail reported.

This is one of the most evil things I"ve ever heard, and for once, it's not from the Human side of the animal kingdom.

[Temjin]

I have to admit I'm doubting the story.

When a large predator, such as a bear, kills large prey, such as a human, don't they prefer to go for the quick kill? That way they can take their time in eating without their prey struggling or trying to get away. It's a bear after all, not a cat playing with it's food. I would assume this would be especially true in a situation where this would be a meal for her cubs.

Second, even if the bear didn't go for a quick kill, I'm going to doubt she will remain coherent enough to call back with a final phone call and say "Mum, it's not hurting anymore. I don't feel the pain. Forgive me for everything. I love you so much." Especially after two prior phone calls saying how she's being eaten alive.

With the way it was written, and the series of events, it just seems a little bit too designed to yank on the reader's heart strings. I don't know enough about bears though to say it's impossible though.

[Darth Fanboy]

I had similar doubts for the same reasons, but there are a lot of circumstances we don't know coming into play. Assuming the article isn't exaggerated, the health of the mother bear (any illnesses, how hungry it had been) come into play as well as if the couple had simply accidentally got too close to the cubs. It seems to me like it could even potentially be a combination of the two.

But I find it extremely difficult to believe that she could be on a cell phone while the bear was actively attacking her, let alone make repeated calls. More likely they were both attacked for one unfortunate reason or another and she called her mom with her last strength as the stepdad was being attacked.

The news outlets being cited in this article are from the UK and UAE, and I also have to question on if they are going on any research into the incident or simply going by the grieving mother's account (while tragic she wasn't there and her own speculation likely comes into play).

[Lord Zentei]

She could have been knocked down with the bears tearing at her, while the mom's telephone number could have been on speed-dial.

I would like to see the story corroborated by an independent source, though.

[Eulogy]

Until we actually see concrete evidence otherwise, I'm calling bullshit. Why is she not screamiing or running away? Why is she taking precious seconds to call family when her life is at stake? For that matter, what did she do to piss off the bear so much, that the bear would bring her cubs with her to kill somebody they know little about?

You would think that mother bears would keep their cubs away from potential threats.

[Lord Zentei]

While I'm not saying that the article isn't bullshit, some of those questions are sort of answered in the article. She did run away, and got 70 yards before the mother bear swiped at her leg. As for why did the mother bear bring her cubs? Apparently to give them something to eat.

But again, corroboration would be nice.

[FSTargetDrone]

This is one of the most evil things I"ve ever heard, and for once, it's not from the Human side of the animal kingdom.

How is this any worse than the occasional shark or elephant killing a human slowly? Or more commonly, dogs.

There is nothing "evil" about this. Sad, yes, but the bear (assuming this story isn't anything but a made-up story) is not acting out of malice. Most animals instinctively prefer to avoid getting into fights because there is a chance that they themselves might be injured.

[Alyrium Denryle]

A person being eaten while still alive is the most horrifying thing you will ever hear. I am calling complete and unequivocal bullshit.

When the Grizzly Man and his girlfriend were eaten alive by bears, the lens cap of the camera was on, but said camera was rolling, thus recording everything. When Werner Hertzog did the documentary, he listened to the recording... yeah. It was bad.

There is absolutely no way in hell this happened as reported.

[FSTargetDrone]

It is entirely possible that the girl and the father were killed and found but that the whole phone call thing was made up. As Temjin and others have suggested, it adds to the emotion and pathos. 3 bear cubs is a lot of mouths to feed. Perhaps the bear saw the people as targets of opportunity and went for it. A sad story, but not surprising.

[Jaepheth]

...As for why did the mother bear bring her cubs? Apparently to give them something to eat.

But again, corroboration would be nice.

Don't predators sometimes wound the prey and then let the children finish it off to teach them hunting?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Don't predators sometimes wound the prey and then let the children finish it off to teach them hunting?

Yes. Yes they do

[Tasoth]

So I went and started digging for videos of bears attacking animals after seeing this. A quick search yielded several videos of brown bears (which I assume these were) attacking moose. In all the videos the bears attacked the head and neck. The moose where still moving when the bears were dragging them away, but I am going to attribute that to how damn big a moose. So assuming the brown bear attacks a human in a similar manner, I am in doubt to the phone calls.

The article also said it took out her leg, not swiped it, which could mean the bear bit it. Again, the size of a brown bear compared to a person would probably mean that would be a horrific wound.

[Thanas]

Don't predators usually go or the stomach and internal organs first? If that is the case, I cannot see how she would be alive to call her mother twice over a not inconsiderable amount of time. Usually you bleed out pretty quickly or go into shock/loose consciousness from such a wound.

[Demiurgas]

This is one of the most evil things I"ve ever heard, and for once, it's not from the Human side of the animal kingdom.

How is this any worse than the occasional shark or elephant killing a human slowly? Or more commonly, dogs.

There is nothing "evil" about this. Sad, yes, but the bear (assuming this story isn't anything but a made-up story) is not acting out of malice. Most animals instinctively prefer to avoid getting into fights because there is a chance that they themselves might be injured.

Eh, poor choice of words.

[Lord Zentei]

The article also said it took out her leg, not swiped it, which could mean the bear bit it. Again, the size of a brown bear compared to a person would probably mean that would be a horrific wound.

I'm not entirely sure how significant the difference is as far as the story's believability is concerned, but fair enough on pointing out the exact wording.

Don't predators usually go or the stomach and internal organs first? If that is the case, I cannot see how she would be alive to call her mother twice over a not inconsiderable amount of time. Usually you bleed out pretty quickly or go into shock/loose consciousness from such a wound.

They could have eaten their fill of the dad and simply used her for training the cubs, I guess.

[Thanas]

Also: If she was out in the wilderness in Kamchatka, how high are the chances she had phone reception in the first place?

[Darth Fanboy]

Don't predators usually go or the stomach and internal organs first? If that is the case, I cannot see how she would be alive to call her mother twice over a not inconsiderable amount of time. Usually you bleed out pretty quickly or go into shock/loose consciousness from such a wound.

It depends on the predator, for example big cats go for the throat so that they can bite through the jugular and also bite through the windpipe and get a quick kill. I am not as well versed with bears but I believe they would make a similar attack if they were intent on eating their prey, using their claws to hold the prey in place so they can make a killing bite or two.

It is important to note that bears do not noramlly consider humans prey and that if a bear is in fact targeting and eating humans there is something off about that animal, perhaps desperation from starvation if in fact the humans are being hunted. A mother with cubs would be more likely to be desperate, however if the bear had been intent on eating this woman she would not have been able to call her mom.

[Darth Fanboy]

Follow up since my edit window closed:

Thanas, according to this PDF from the USGS Bears will go for a killing bite the neck at the base of the skull, or alternatively for the face. If needed a they might soften up the prey with a bite to the back, digging in their claws on the sides (to get a firm grip), or in some cases using their sheer size to pin an animal down.

[Tasoth]

The only predator I know of that goes directly for the internal organs are spotted hyenas, and apparently this method of killing is more humane than the way most other predators kill as shock sets in rapidly and the prey tends to be dead before they begin eating. Or so the TV hosts say. Big cats attack head/neck and lions have been known to simply latch onto a prey's muzzle and suffocate it that way. Wolves attack the hind quarters and bring prey down from blood loss/shock.

[K. A. Pital]

This is true, all too sad. Don't fuck with bears. Bring heavy weapons any time you go out into the wild. Preferrably something with auto.

[His Divine Shadow]

The one excludes the other mostly unless we get into stupid gimmick guns like the Desert Eagle, revolvers are an option though, a 12ga shotgun with slugs or high caliber hunting rifle is better. But the law prevents people in a lot of countries from carrying such a thing around self defence, let alone owning them. So get bear spray.

[NoXion]

This is true, all too sad. Don't fuck with bears. Bring heavy weapons any time you go out into the wild. Preferrably something with auto.

What sort of firearms could one legally own in Russia, that would be a good defence against bears?

[K. A. Pital]

What sort of firearms could one legally own in Russia, that would be a good defence against bears?

Non-auto rifles and shotguns. Yeah, non-auto... that's a problem. But still that is better than nothing. You can get near military-grade carbines if you own smoothbarrel guns for long enough (5 years or so). If you are stalking places like Kamchatka, that'd be the first thing on my list. At least a chance of killing the beast before it kills you.

[Enigma]

The one excludes the other mostly unless we get into stupid gimmick guns like the Desert Eagle, revolvers are an option though, a 12ga shotgun with slugs or high caliber hunting rifle is better. But the law prevents people in a lot of countries from carrying such a thing around self defence, let alone owning them. So get bear spray.

In Europe maybe, but in the U.S. and Canada you can own shotguns and hunting rifles.

[Zaune]

In Europe maybe, but in the U.S. and Canada you can own shotguns and hunting rifles.

Easy enough to get a permit for either of those in most of Europe as well, though there's more paperwork involved in acquiring the necessary permits. Carrying one in case of bears would probably be alright if it was an area with a known population of them.