Yeah! Go bear!

From The Daily Mail:

This is the terrifying moment an angry performing bear attacked its handlers after being forced to ride a skateboard and beaten with a stick at a circus in Russia.

Children in the audience screamed as the animal turned on its keepers moments after riding down a ramp during a performance at a village in Russia's Volgograd region.

Desperate members of staff tried to beat the brown bear with sticks as it pinned a colleague to the ground.

Pop over there to watch the action in all its g(l)ory.

"Pictured: Two plane crash survivor families eaten by bear"

From The Daily Mail:

Two families in Alaska who survived a fiery plane crash Sunday were later eaten by one of the bears they had hoped to spot.

The the Antonakos and McManus families, both of South Carolina, won’t be returning home to share their tales. Nine parents and children plus the pilot struggled away from the wreckage alive after a failed take-off 75 miles outside Anchorage, after the families decided to do something new and exciting this summer.

"They were very excited," the father of Kimberly Antonakos, H. Wayne Clayton, said Monday. "They never had been there before and wanted to see bears in the wild."

... The Federal Animal Administration said the likely culprit was a black bear or grizzly bear, based near Nikiski, another Kenai Peninsula community. The pilot of the downed plane was Nikiski-based Walter ‘Willie’ Rediske, company spokesman Andy Harcombe said.

The remains of the victims were sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage for autopsies and positive identifications.

"If they teach this skill to the cows, we’re doomed."

... says JuliaM, who spotted this story in the Daily Mail:

"Two killed in bizarre motorway accident as airborne 21stone black bear smashes through car windscreen"

From The Daily Mail:

A man and woman were killed in a bizarre motorway accident when an airborne 21stone black bear smashed through their windscreen and exited through the back window.

Their car was travelling east on Highway 148 just outside Quebec, Canada, at around 10.30pm on Monday night. A vehicle travelling in the opposite direction hit the bear, sending it flying into the air across the other lane.

It was then struck by the second car, killing the 25-year-old female driver and her friend Steven Leon, 40, who was sat in the back seat.

Sort of like bear ping-pong with fatalities.

Contrasting techniques for fending off attacks by bears and cows.

View From The Solent spotted this...

The deep-seated foreign fear of bears roaming Russia’s streets might be coming true – and authorities in the remote Komi Republic is issuing guidelines to fend off attacks.

Among the top tips, residents are told to look the bear in the eye and speak to it firmly. Turning your back on a hungry mammal is not recommended. If the bear attacks, it’s best to meet fire with fire, apparently by shouting loudly and maintaining that all important eye contact, according to AFP.

... and asked: "Will this advice also work for cow attacks?"

Nope.

Joseph Muri, from the Agriculture Department in Nidwalden, Switzerland advises thusly:

Wichtig sei, dass einige banale Grundregeln im Umgang mit weidenden Tieren beachtet werden. Man soll die Tiere nicht berühren, direkten Augenkontakt vermeiden und auf Drohgebärden der Tiere achten, zum Beispiel wenn diese den Kopf senken und mit den Hufen scharren. So können viele Angriffe vermieden werden.

Translated; "It is important to follow a few basic ground rules with grazing cattle. Do not touch them, avoid direct eye contact and look out for signs of aggression, such as lowering heads or stamping with hooves. This will help avoid or prevent most attacks."

As to "not turning your back", I'd suggest the best advice when faced with aggressive cows is "run like hell". Unless you can run backwards, this inevitably entails "turning your back".