70-Year-Old Man Fatally Shoots Brown Bear Who Dragged Him For 15 Meters

A 70-year-old man has shot a brown bear dead after the animal dragged him for 15 meters and tore his leg while he was hunting for wild boar in France.

The incident took place near Seix in Ariège Saturday afternoon. The mother bear, who was eager to protect her cubs, dragged the man for 15 meters, Jean-Luc Fernandez, president of the Ariège Hunting Federation, said as per Business Insider.

The man fired two shots at the female bear in self-defense and killed the animal instantly.

Police were called to the scene around 15:30 local time. Responding officers found the dead bear lying meters away from the injured man, reported BBC News.

"I was a little further away, I didn't see what was happening but I heard the call on the radio," a member of the local hunting association, whose name was not revealed, said, according to Sky News. "The bear attacked him and grabbed his leg, he tore his calf off and injured him in the other leg too."

A person at the scene was able to keep the injured man from bleeding until help arrived. The hunter, who suffered a fractured fibula, was airlifted to a hospital, where he remains in serious condition.

"It doesn't surprise me, they are coming closer and closer because there is nothing left to eat in the mountains," the hunting association member added as per the outlet. "But he shot him only for the sake of himself."

Police have launched an investigation into the case.

The recent attack reignites the debate about the controversial move to reintroduce brown bears to the Pyrenees. Farmers in the area believe the giant mammals pose a threat to their livestock. The growing population of bears also makes it difficult for them to get food in the wild, bringing them into closer contact with people.

Christine Tequi, a local council official in Ariège, said such attacks were what they were worried about.

"Today, you can really see that cohabitation is complicated," BBC News quoted her as saying.

Earlier this month, a California woman who was battling cancer was attacked by a black bear in her Lake Tahoe cabin. The animal was rummaging through her freezer, looking for food, when the woman came into her kitchen and blocked its escape route. The animal charged and injured the woman.