Poacher mauled by endangered bearBy COLIN FERNANDEZ
Last updated at 01:05 15 November 2007
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For those trying to trap a bear, here are some golden rules.
One: Don't fall into your own bear-pit.
Two: If you do fall into your own pit, make sure the bear is not around.
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Be afraid, be very afraid: Makhan Khan, trapped in the bear pit, looks understandably alarmed as the animal advances ... and his fellow hunters take to their heels
Three: If first two rules have been broken, hope your comrades don't run away.
Clearly no one told Makhan Khan and his fellow hunters as they tried to drive an Asiatic black bear into a prepared pit by waving sticks and a blazing torch.
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Terror: Fear flashes across Mr Khan's eyes as the beast closes in
As these amazing pictures show, the bear, which had wandered too close to the village of Gassoo, in Kashmir, has other ideas.
It rounds on the men, who flee in terror.
In the panic, Mr Khan is half swallowed in the camouflaged pit and the advancing animal swats aside his flailing stick.
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The bear's revenge: A powerful paw delivers a vicious swipe to Mr Khan's head
As his comrades make good their escape, the bear grabs Mr Khan's head.
Screaming, he drops further into the pit until only the top of his head and hands remain visible.
The bear, losing interest, ambles away.
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Pit of despair: Mr Khan sinks almost out of sight as the bear loses interest in the game
Mr Khan suffered multiple injuries but survived - which is more than the hunters had planned for the bear.
Had they been successful, it would have been killed for its pelt and meat.
An agency photographer captured Mr Khan's plight while on assignment to highlight the illegal hunting of bears in Kashmir.
The Asiatic black bear is an endangered species across Asia, but numbers have soared in Kashmir because the armed separatist struggle has made poaching too dangerous in the Indian state.