Russian singer Gulnaz Asaeva, 27, has told how a bear, thought to be tame, was brought to a birthday picnic as a prank but then it became aggressive and attacked them
A singer is heard screaming in fear as a bear rampaged during a birthday picnic, leaving a man covered in blood in a prank that went badly wrong.
The angry brown bear is seen on the video running through long grass towards Gulnaz Asaeva, 27, and her group. She is heard shouting “Bear”. A man’s voice then says: “Quiet, take the camera away,” and another voice is urging: “Run away.” Gulnaz continues in panic: “Ahhh! It’s a bear!” before there are more screams of terror.
She posted a photo of her manager and concert director Vadim Fathinurov, 37, in an ambulance and covered in blood after he was attacked by the bear. Amid concern from fans over the incident, the singer later claimed the bear attack was a prank that went badly wrong. It comes after an octopus ‘climbed out of aquarium tank’ and ‘tries to eat boy, 6,’ in front of his mum.
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Gulnaz said: “We decided to shoot a video, went to a location with my whole team. The scenario of the video was that each of the participants prepares a prank in advance, but no one knows about this prank. As a result, our concert director Vadim decided to invite a tame bear to the location where we were filming.
“Naturally, when we saw the bear, we were all just in shock…. We screamed, squealed, because these were just indescribable emotions.” She confessed: “I thought that we were living the last seconds of our lives, because the bear was running straight at us. But then Vadim calmed us all down. He said: ‘Look, this is a tame bear’
“He extended his hand to [the bear] in order to calm us down. And the bear just bit him at that moment.” The ambulance was called and he was given first aid. Asaeva was marking the birthday of her husband Vildan Shamsutdinov, 27, a singer with the stage name Villi, when the bear attacked in Russian region Bashkortostan. She is famous for her heartfelt Tatar‑language and Russian songs as well as dynamic live shows.
It comes after a tourist was dragged into a ravine and killed by a bear after posing for a selfie with its cub. Omar Farang Zin was mauled on the roadside before being dragged 260ft down a steep hill into a forest in Romania, last month. Police and emergency services said that after an hour of searching for him, the 38-year-old’s lifeless body was found.
Just one day before the tragic incident, the motorcyclist had posted a series of pictures on Facebook of a large bear which appeared to be standing extremely close to him. Omar had also shared a selfie posing with a bear cub.
Omar, who came from Samarate near Milan, Italy, was travelling on the Transfagarasan mountain road. He was seen allegedly trying to feed a bear in an area with signposts warning not to do so. Arge Mountain Rescue spokesperson Ion Snduloiu said: “He was attacked by a female bear and dragged close to the water.
“Those who know the place know that there is approximately 80 metres difference in gradient. The animal was so aggressive that it carried him to within 10 to 15 metres from the shore.
“Unfortunately, he was already dead when we arrived. The injuries were extremely severe. Even though he was wearing a helmet and full protective gear, it wasn’t enough.” The mayor’s office later stated that the bear had been shot dead by hunters.