Terrifying moment man runs for his life from rampaging polar bear after his desperate attempt to shoot the beast failed
Residents of the tiny village of Pyramiden had been trying to scare off bears after one was spotted sniffing around residents' snowmobiles.
But a harrowing clip from the island of Svalbard showed the moment one brazen creature, undeterred even by a volley of gunshots, turned and gave chase.
A Russian mining manager was seen bounding through the snow as onlookers shouted out 'No! Go away!' at the nearing bear.
The animal, capable of running at speeds of up to 25mph, charged at the man who, in his panic, dropped his rifle as he leapt onto a snowmobile.
The bear was seen just feet away from the lucky Russian as the snowmobile came to his dramatic rescue.
The alarm at the Pyramiden came as the mining manager was trying to scare away polar bears from the village, which is popular with tourists.
At the time, there were about 80 people in the settlement, who were staying at the Tulip Hotel, said a source at Arktikugol, a Russian Arctic coal company operating in the settlement.
'Bears frequently enter Pyramiden because their migration route runs through the area.
'Some bears are aggressive, while others are more timid and skittish.'
The manager made a lucky escape as the bear closed in with ease.
While bears are not active predators of humans, they will attack if especially hungry or threatened.
Only last year, two polar bears killed a worker at a remote Arctic radar station in Canada's Nunavut territory.
'Employees of the trust undergo training and monitor the safety of tourists, among other duties,' the Arktikugol source explained.
'Both the man and the bear are currently fine,' he said of the undated scare in Pyramiden. 'No-one was injured.'
Voices were heard in the clip admiring how the production manager had risked his life to scare the bear.
'Very brave guy……Damn, that guy is brave.'
Residents of the island had been trying to scare off bears after one was spotted sniffing around residents' snowmobiles
There are around 300 polar bears on Svalbard.
The same bear had been seen two days earlier 'inspecting snowmobiles'.
Eyewitnesses said food had been left in the snowmobiles, which attracted the predator.'
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