Woman fights bear, saves husband

Baripada: Ina rare display of courage, a 41-year-old tribal woman saved her husband from the jaws of death by fighting a wild bear in a dense forest in Mayurbhanj district, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday at Hatisalabeda forest near Milu village under Karanjia range when a tribal couple, Malde Soren (48) and Lili Soren (41), had gone to the forest for collecting leaves.

“When the couple entered the dense forest, they encountered a group of six wild bears and one among them attacked Malde, mauling him viciously and inflicting serious injuries, including deep scalp wounds,” range officer Prasant Kumar Swain told reporters.

Swain highly praised the woman who, instead of running away from the scene, picked up an axe and attacked the animal. The bear sustained injuries from the axe attack and fled to the jungle, the officer said.

A seriously injured Malde was first taken to Karanjia government hospital, and later shifted to Keonjhar District Hospital for better treatment.