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Selfie With a Bear Turns Fatal

Selfie With a Bear Turns Fatal
A wild sloth bear in India (Ondrej Prosicky/Dreamstime)

By    |   Tuesday, 08 May 2018 11:59 AM EDT

A selfie with an injured sloth bear turned fatal for Prabhu Bhatara when he tried to snap a picture with the animal along a road in the Pharsaguda area of eastern India.

Bhatara was driving back from a wedding with several others when they pulled over for a break near a wooded area, CBS News reported, and he spotted the bear nearby.

When he took out his phone to take a selfie he got too close and the wild animal chased and grabbed him.

Forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohapatra said Bhatara was "killed on the spot," The Hindustan Times reported, but apparently not without a struggle.

Though a stray dog unsuccessfully attempted to fight the bear off and someone hit at the bear with a stick, the Times said, the people accompanying Bhatara seemed more concerned about filming the incident than intervening.

At one point Bhatara extricated himself from the bear and was able to stand up but then the animal grabbed him again.

Authorities were only able to recover Bhatara’s body later that day, after tranquilizing the bear, Kalinga TV reported.

The bear was being treated for injuries, Mohapatra explained, per USA Today.

The incident is just the latest in a string of fatal selfies.

CBS noted that more people have died from selfies than shark attacks, with camera-happy snappers crashing their cars, falling of cliffs and even shooting themselves while posing with guns.

In one incident, an unidentified English hiker was killed while exploring the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales when a lightning bolt struck the metal rod of a selfie stick, Rolling Stone reported.

In another incident, two Russian soldiers in the Urals region west of Siberia died when they were posing for a selfie while holding a live grenade, which detonated in their faces.

The situation has gotten so bad in India that Mumbai has made a move to outlaw the selfie in the wake of 19 resulting deaths, CBS News said.

Meanwhile in Pamplona, officials have introduced a selfie ban for the annual Running of the Bulls.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
A selfie with an injured sloth bear turned fatal for Prabhu Bhatara when he tried to snap a picture with the animal along a road in the Pharsaguda area of eastern India.
fatal, selfie, bear
348
2018-59-08
Tuesday, 08 May 2018 11:59 AM
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