Jilin man survives bear attack by playing dead

A villager in Jiaohe, Jilin province, managed to escape being mauled by a black bear by playing dead, Southern Metropolis Daily reports.

The man, surnamed Gao, was collecting mushrooms on a mountain near Dailuhe village on Nov 13 when he woke a black bear hibernating in a cave a few metres from where he was standing. 

His wife was quoted as saying the bear pushed Gao to the ground and then bit his head and body, it eventually stopped attacking him after he lay still and feigned death. 

Gao stood up and asked two fellow villagers nearby to take him to hospital. He has severe facial injuries and needs surgery.

As Bear Smart points out, playing dead will protect you from a bear attacking out of anger or from a desire to protect cubs, but will be fairly useless against a predatory animal since if it thinks you're dead it will proceed from trying to kill you right on to trying to eat you. 

[Image via Flickr]