Thai man at risk of losing eyesight after being mauled by a bear

[webfact]

A Thai man risks losing his eyesight after a bear attacked him on his plantation on Tuesday in the central province of Nakhon Nayok resulting in severe injuries.

 

Locals in the Pak Plee district of Nakhon Nayok reported the discovery of a bear weighing about 100 kilogrammes to the director of Khao Yai National Park on July 19, prompting rangers to investigate the community and nearby forest in search of the bear.

The ranger team set up two traps in the area in an attempt to capture the bear and relocate it deep into the forest but their efforts were unsuccessful. The bear remains at large, foraging in local plantations for food. Unfortunately, 65 year old Thongbai Wongsakarn was attacked by the bear on Tuesday while harvesting on his plantation.

 

Thongbai suffered severe injuries including a fractured skull, broken jaw, and extensive facial wounds after being clawed in the face. Matichon reported that he is at risk of losing his right eye. Currently, Thongbai is receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital in Prachinburi province.

Rangers have adjusted their strategy from capturing the bear to exerting pressure on it to retreat into the deep forest. They have been tracking the bear’s footprints and attempting to stress it into fleeing to a safer habitat.

Additionally, rangers are conducting patrols in the community to ensure the safety of residents.

In a related report, another bear attack occurred in March in the Isaan province of Buriram. A Thai man was attacked by an Asian black bear while he was hunting for ant eggs in the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

The bear approached the victim from behind, clawed his face, bit his leg, and dragged him away. Fortunately, the man managed to escape by using a knife to threaten the animal.

 

Another bear attack was reported in January at a wildlife foundation in Chiang Mai when a Swiss man lost his right arm while feeding the bear. The bear bit his arm, so he decided to cut off his arm to save his own life.

 

by Petch Petpailin
Photo via Matichon

 

Source: The Thaigerr 2024-07-25

 

- Cigna offers a range of plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

[Peabody]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Another bear attack was reported in January at a wildlife foundation in Chiang Mai when a Swiss man lost his right arm while feeding the bear. The bear bit his arm, so he decided to cut off his arm to save his own life.

Anybody see this story?

 

[ronster]

Swiss guy cut off his own arm because the bear bit him ?

Never heard of that happening here .🤔

[pj123]

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/swiss-man-cuts-off-arm-to-escape-bear-attack-in-chiang-mai

 

[hotchilli]

51 minutes ago, Peabody said:

Anybody see this story?

 

Yes I remember it... a tad exaggerated if I remember rightly..

[pacovl46]

Just yesterday I watched a video on YouTube of a guy who survived a Kodiak attack back in early 2000. He said your best chance is to lay flat on your stomach, play dead, spread your legs so you can't be easily flipped and use your hands to protect your neck because, if you face them, they'll definitely go for your face. If the bear attacks you because it sees you as a threat instead of food, you'll have a good chance that it will leave you be after it thinks it eliminated the thread. Luckily for the guy it bit him on the neck instead of his skull and that caused his thumb to snap and he thinks that the bear probably thought it snapped his neck and then stopped attacking him and walked off. He also said it's very important, if the bear flips you to use the momentum to flip back on your belly. All of the above only applies to brown bears. If it's a black bear you need to resist as much as possible, make yourself big and be loud and aggressive because that might make them go away. If it's a polar bear you're screwed because it's the only type of bear that is exclusively carnivorous and it will DEFINITELY see you as food. 

[Chris Daley]

Good old Buddhist values.

[huangnon]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Another bear attack was reported in January at a wildlife foundation in Chiang Mai when a Swiss man lost his right arm while feeding the bear. The bear bit his arm, so he decided to cut off his arm to save his own life.

 

As one does..

[roo860]

13 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Just yesterday I watched a video on YouTube of a guy who survived a Kodiak attack back in early 2000. He said your best chance is to lay flat on your stomach, play dead, spread your legs so you can't be easily flipped and use your hands to protect your neck because, if you face them, they'll definitely go for your face. If the bear attacks you because it sees you as a threat instead of food, you'll have a good chance that it will leave you be after it thinks it eliminated the thread. Luckily for the guy it bit him on the neck instead of his skull and that caused his thumb to snap and he thinks that the bear probably thought it snapped his neck and then stopped attacking him and walked off. He also said it's very important, if the bear flips you to use the momentum to flip back on your belly. All of the above only applies to brown bears. If it's a black bear you need to resist as much as possible, make yourself big and be loud and aggressive because that might make them go away. If it's a polar bear you're screwed because it's the only type of bear that is exclusively carnivorous and it will DEFINITELY see you as food. 

Yes you're 100% correct, I saw the movie The Revenant, Leonardo De Caprio did just what you described and he survived the attack, he then went on to kill Tom Hardy with a tomahawk.👍🏾

[ronster]

21 hours ago, pj123 said:

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/swiss-man-cuts-off-arm-to-escape-bear-attack-in-chiang-mai

 

Good idea shoving his arm into its cage ! 🙄🙈

[pacovl46]

6 hours ago, roo860 said:

Yes you're 100% correct, I saw the movie The Revenant, Leonardo De Caprio did just what you described and he survived the attack, he then went on to kill Tom Hardy with a tomahawk.👍🏾

That's actually a true story. It was Hugh Glass. What's even more astounding is that the actual attack didn't go down in winter as it was portrayed in the movie, which would would've probably helped a lot with infection, but in summer. That guy must've had an insane immune system!