Apostol Terziev, 49, from the village of Malevo in Smolyan municipality, survived a horrific bear attack that left him hospitalised with wounds to the head, legs and body.
 
The bear, however, did not survive; other hunters shot the animal dead to rescue their friend, the Bulgarian National Television reported on October 26.
 
The tragic incident occurred when Terziev’s hunting dogs started barking and plunged into the woods. Thinking they had caught the scent of game, he followed them briskly through the scrub where he was attacked by the bear.
 
"Suddenly the animal came out and leaped on me, lashing onto my face, legs and body. Then came one of the dogs, diverting some of the bear’s attention, giving me a temporary respite. Then my friends turned up and shot the bear".
 
First on the scene was another hunter, Zapryan Vitekov, who initially failed to recognise the animal as a bear.
 
"My friend was in dire straits and I had to help him. I yelled and then the animal turned on to me and I realised what I was facing. Then the bear started running and I shot her twice."
 
The bear was eventually killed by a third hunter who finished off the fleeing, wounded animal. Authorities have collected the carcass and will try to investigate why it was behaving so aggressively.
 
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs up to 680 kilograms and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family, and as the largest land based predator.
 
The species primarily feeds on vegetable matter, including roots and fungi. Fish are a primary source of meat. It also eats small land mammals and occasionally larger mammals, such as deer. Adult brown bears can match wolf packs and large felines, often driving them off their kills.
 
In Bulgaria, the brown bear is a protected animal and it can be shot only if she is proven to be a meat eater, with documented attacks on farm animals. As this particular bear was shot in self-defence, it may or may not prove to be a meat eater, which will be determined following the autopsy.