What was meant to be a simple father-and-son outing to collect firewood ended in tragedy after a bear launched a violent attack, killing both men and leaving a forest ranger critically injured.
Father Suklal Darro, 45, and 22-year-old son Ajju Kureti set off into the forest to gather wood in the Kanker area of Chhattisgarh in east India.
But in an gruesome twist, their peaceful day out turned deadly after a rabid sloth bear mauled the father and son to death.
A terrifying video captured the moment the tragedy unfolded and how the ferocious beast attacked forest guard, Narayan Yadav, who heroically jumped in to save the father and son.
The video shows the bear angrily charging towards Mr Yadav as a man can be heard shouting: ‘Don’t run away!’, while the animal gets close to the ranger.
The bear then jumps onto Mr Yadav and attacks him before pinning him down against the forest floor.
Pressing its massive paws on his chest, the bear is heard growling as it bites into a helpless Mr Yadav’s neck, face and torso as he screams for help.
Luckily, the forest guard escaped, but sustained severe injuries to his hands and was rushed to hospital, where he was in critical condition.
A father and son were killed after a rabid sloth bear brutally mauled them to death while they picked firewood
A terrifying video captured the moment the tragedy unfolded and how the ferocious beast attacked the duo
The bear can be seen charging at the men in a terrifying clip
But Mr Darro and Mr Kureti were not so lucky and tragically died as a result of the violent attack.
Despite efforts from paramedics, Mr Darro succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital, while Mr Kureti was pronounced dead at the scene of the attack.
The scene of the attack was so horrific that officers had to use JCB’s to remove Mr Kureti’s body from the forest.
Forest officers believed that the bear was infected by rabies.
The horrific attack in January came months after a 28-year-old man was killed while two others were seriously injured after they were attacked by a sloth bear in the same state of Chhattisgarh.
The incident took place on August 4, 2024, near the village of Badraudi when the victim, named locally as Chhablal, along with two pals went to collect wood.
After encountering the bear, Chhablal tried to scare the animal away, but was mauled to death.
His friends were also attacked and sustained critical injuries.
Forest guards believe the bear was infected by rabies
Sloth bears are native to India. They have mauled thousands of people and killed hundreds over the last 20 years
Sloth bears are native to India, and despite their fuzzy facade, they are some of the deadliest of their species.
According to National Geographic, sloth bears have mauled thousands of people and killed hundreds over the last two decades, making the species responsible for more human fatalities per capita than any other type of bear.
A sloth bear’s aggressive disposition, strong jaw and large canine teeth make them particularly deadly when attacked, either by humans or Bengal tigers, who occasionally see them as food.
However, their typical diet is fruit, termites and bees.
Sloth bears are under threat in the Indian subcontinent and they are often hunted for their meat or claws.
Others are taken into captivity, treated incredibly cruelly and used as performing pets.
Sloth bears are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but they have often been used to entertained crowds by playing imaginary guitars, smoking cigarettes and dancing to the pounding of drums, providing an income for their handlers.
Scientists believe sloth bears are one of the most aggressive species because of the large human populations often existing in close proximity to their habitats.
In one of the most horrific cases, an Indian farmer died after a sloth bear partially ate him in a violent attack.
The farmer is understood to have ventured into a wooded area of this property near the remote village of Madhugiri in Karnataka state when the bear launched its attack.
Identified only as 45-year-old Somanna, the man is understood to have come face-to-face with the bear and, fearing for his life, attacked it with a machete.
The beast retaliated, mauled the farmer to death and then proceeded to eat his remains.
The farmer’s frantic calls for help alerted a crowd, who then began to throw stones in the hope of scaring the animal away from the village.
The bear then charged at the crowd, seriously injuring a second man, before police arrived approximately four hours later and shot the animal dead
