At a wildlife foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a bear bit the 32-year-old man and wouldn’t let go, forcing him to cut off his arm with a pocket knife. The man, named by Newsweek as Swiss citizen Stefan Claudio Specogna, was feeding an Asian black bear in a cage at the wildlife sanctuary when the bear snatched his right arm out of its mouth. After attempting to free his arm, the 32-year-old had to use a pocket knife to cut it off since the animal would not release its hold.
The incident occurred in the compound of the foundation. Mr Stefan had extended his right arm into the bear’s cage to feed it when the wild animal unexpectedly bit him, refusing to release its grip. After struggling to free his arm from the bear’s jaw, and not wanting to harm the animal, the 32-year-old man used a knife to sever his arm and escape the bear’s attack.
Mr Stefan was given first aid by bystanders and rushed to a nearby hospital. From there, he was taken to another hospital for surgery. His arm was damaged from the elbow down. His severed arm was found in a shredded condition, Bangkok Post reported.
Native to East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, and the Himalayas, Asian black bears are endangered. These bears are built similarly to brown bears and reach weights of up to 300 pounds. Compared to brown bears and American black bears, they are more aggressive toward humans despite being generally quite shy. The IUCN Red List has classified these bears as vulnerable because of population declines brought on by deforestation and poaching, which frequently occurs for the bears’ skin and gallbladders, which are used in traditional medicine.
Meanwhile, in a similar incident last year, a 23-year-old animal keeper was mauled to death by a Himalayan black bear in the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Andhra Pradesh. B Nagesh Babu was attacked by Jihwan, the bear, estimated to be around 15 years old, an official said.
“Nagesh had left all the doors open in the animal night house and gone inside to clean, following which the animal came into the night house and attacked the keeper,” the zoo said in a release. According to the Zoo, Mr Babu was found lying in an unconscious state with serious injuries on his head, left arm, and chest by the animal night house.
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