Thursday, Sep 28 2023
All Cities
Choose Your City
'Switzerland would fit into Tyumen region in Siberia seven times. But it doesnt't want to. '
anekdot.ru

Dramatic pictures show how dogs are trained to hunt as they attack captive bear

By The Siberian Times reporter
13 April 2015

Chained to a tree and bitten, five-year-old Masha is used as bait to hone skills in a competition to find the best hunter.

For some the only way to protect themselves is to have dogs that can track them down for hunters to kill in order to keep them away from communities. Picture: Spiridon Sleptsov

A photographer in the Russian Far East has captured images of a bear being attacked by dogs as part of a competition aimed to honing hunting skills.

Spiridon Sleptsov visited the Bayanay Hunting Club, near Yakutsk, and took photos of the five-year-old female chained to a tree as it attempted to fend off the dogs.

Attacks by bears on humans are a real possibility in many areas of Siberia and the Far East, particularly this year after warm weather brought forward the end of hibernation. For some the only way to protect themselves is to have dogs that can track them down for hunters to kill in order to keep them away from communities.

The 6th Republican competition was held on April 4 and 5 to find the best individual hunting dog and team, and marked the celebration of Hunter’s Day in the area.

Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt

Femal bear Masha, 5 yo, chained to a tree and attempting to fend off the dogs. Pictures: Spiridon Sleptsov

The dogs either came out to pit their wits against the bear on their own or in pairs, and at first had to stalk the animal from 100metres away using its scent. Owners are forbidden to interfere in the process or help and the dogs are given two minutes to find their target.

They are then judged, using a point scale of 100, on their ability to harass and cajole the bear long enough for a hunter to arrive on the scene in the real world and kill the animal.

Sleptsov said: 'Also an important criteria for evaluating the working abilities of the dogs were its barking voice and manner. Ideally after bursting into a loud bark the dog must attack the beast from behind, constantly twisting it around, thereby keeping the bear in one place and giving the hunter an idea of where to go.

'Rating the work in pairs took into account the coherence and mutual assistance between them. If only one of the dogs attacked the bear actively, the score was reduced and if the second dog did not pay attention to bear at all, the pair was disqualified.'

Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt

Ideally after bursting into a loud bark the dog must attack the beast from behind, constantly twisting it around, thereby keeping the bear in one place and giving the hunter an idea of where to go. Pictures: Spiridon Sleptsov

To test how good the dogs were at being able to stop the bear from running away, following a special command the bear was led along a stretched rope. The dogs needed to stop the bear and draw attention to themselves, again as if waiting for a hunter to arrive.

'It was rather hard to calm the over-heated dogs,' said Sleptsov. 'Seeing that their owner was approaching, the dog began to bark at the beast with renewed energy and it took a lot of effort to pull them back from the bear. Fortunately for the owners there was not such a criteria as 'obedience' in the scoring list.'

Sleptsov said none of the participants got the first degree certificates and said that was because the dogs taking part were not experienced hunting animals, but were instead simply taking part in the competition for sport purposes.

The photographer made some observations about the bear, called Masha, who has been taking part in this competition for a number of years.

Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt


Bear hunt

'Despite her apparent slowness, Masha's attacks, like any wild animal, were extremely sharp and unexpected. In a split second she can turn 180 degrees to slap the abuser.' Picture: Spiridon Sleptsov

'Over the years Masha the bear has studied the psychology of dogs quite well. She almost immediately determines whether another dog is a problem for her or not. To aggressive dogs capable of painful bite, Masha's attitude was different. Despite her apparent slowness, Masha's attacks, like any wild animal, were extremely sharp and unexpected. In a split second she can turn 180 degrees to slap the abuser.

'To be fair, it should be noted that in all the years of holding such events, no dog has been injured by her paws and teeth. All the dogs were afraid of the bear. But with one dog Masha had time for good frolic. I don’t know why she did like this particular dog but for 10 to 15 minutes they played and ran around the paddock.

'When time was up, the bear was almost whining that the dog had left her.'

In the individual championship standings the champion was Western Siberian laika Erken while the doubles title was taken by West Siberian laika Mooyto and Yakut hunting laika Bayanay.

Comments (21)

That’s so ***** up. I understand that a bear attack is very real over there, I get it, just keep your kids inside. And watch your back don’t go outside at night when you can’t see. Carry a rifle with you. There are other things that can prevent a bear attack. But to chain a bear to a tree where it can’t get away from attacking dogs is beyond wrong.
AmyKelley, USA
17/02/2021 12:56
5
1
and give your dog's hug's
KaiRei, fgguy
01/10/2020 22:50
3
0
you guys are sick leave those bears alone
tyftft, fgguy
30/09/2020 19:52
5
1
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. AND LET THEM HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
Genesis 1:26 ESV
Radical 11, US of A
01/11/2017 08:42
1
8
You sick and disgusting people. How about you let me chain you up, put a bear out there with you and see if you can fight it off.
Keisha Fish. , USA
04/12/2016 21:42
11
3
et les autorités laissent faire ?
Phil, Nice France
03/05/2015 17:51
3
1
This just made me so sick. Let that bear go and just love your dogs.
Wayne Kacur, Canada / USA
21/04/2015 12:01
8
4
Sadistic! No, not the bear or the dogs...but the moronic unintelligent cretins who have set this up.
Jaker, Dundalk
17/04/2015 21:41
10
3
Cruel and absurd, shame on you!
Loredana Dumitru, Slatina/Roamania
16/04/2015 15:26
12
2
l'idiotie humaine n'a pas de limite
grandmaison, seraing Belgique
16/04/2015 12:09
9
0
This story ended being about enslavement of a wild animal! UNACCEPTABLE!
Carla Porter, USA
16/04/2015 09:21
11
2
bear baiting is horrific. it must stop it is very crewel
geri perry, palm desert, california. USA
16/04/2015 06:07
14
1
殘忍
wang, taiwan
15/04/2015 07:53
4
1
You people are sick. Would love to chain your ass up to a tree and let a pack of dogs go you! Give your heads a shake! Just down right cruel and stupid.
Donna, Canada
15/04/2015 04:03
23
1
Evolve already. This is disgusting and shameful. These people don't even belong to my species. @That Guy - the 'almighty' gave you a brain too, moron. Use it.
Annabelle , Vancouver, Canada
15/04/2015 02:25
18
0
12

Add your comment

We welcome a healthy debate, but do not accept offensive or abusive comments. Please also read 'Siberian Times' Privacy Policy

Name

Town/Country

Add your comments

The views expressed in the comments above are those of our readers. 'Siberian Times' reserves the right to pre-moderate some comments.

Control code*

Type the code

* obligatory


Features

Business

The Bank of Russia official exchange rates of foreign currencies
EUR101.98USD96.50GBP117.42Other...