I hate the cold, yet here I was, in winter, boarding a plane for Siberia. This was no holiday– after all, no one goes to Siberia for a holiday!

Four children among those hit by the infection which has spread from a beast slaughtered this year.

Toy was due to travel to Thailand with its owner, but is now living in luxury thanks to kind staff at Yekaterinburg airport.

Ivan and Lubov Leshchenko keep the animals in the backyard of their village of Dubovy Kliuch - Oak key - in the Far East of Russia.

Polar bear Gerda cradles her three month old female cub in magical pictures from Novosibirsk Zoo.

The Australian travel company is revolutionising the image of Siberia in the outside world.

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.

Touching footage as Gerda shows her maternal instincts to care and play with her baby.

Mother-of-three speaks for the first time about horror incident in woods and declares: 'Life is beautiful'