Villager Xia Gaolong recovers after being attacked by black bear while picking mushrooms in the mountains in Jiaohe, Jilin Province on November 13. Photo: New Culture View

A villager in northern China is recovering in hospital after he was mauled by a bear for seven minutes and escaped only by playing dead on November 13.

Xia Gaolong, the 44-year-old resident of Dailuhe village in Jiaohe, Jilin Province, underwent reconstructive surgery at The First Bethune Hospital of Jilin University in Changchun, Jilin Province after 40 percent of his face was disfigured in the attack. 

According to wife Liu Yuying, Xia was attacked while picking mushrooms with two other villagers in the Kangdala mountains, 15 kilometers away from the village.

"My husband was climbing higher up the mountain and was concentrating on the trees without paying much attention to what was around him," said Liu. 

She said Xia recalled the black bear had rushed from a cave two meters away and pulled him downward.

"The bear first bit his head and then his body," said Liu. The attack lasted for seven minutes and only ended when Xia cleverly played dead.

"My husband stood up after the bear left. He wrapped his head with trousers and ran all way down the mountain and caught up with his other two companions," added Liu.

Despite donations from well-meaning villagers, Liu expressed concerns about the mounting medical costs.

"The next step involves reconstruction of the eyelids. Preliminary treatment will cost at least 100,000 yuan ($16,400)," said Lin Quan, a plastic surgeon at the hospital.

Tang Jingwen, deputy secretary-general of Jilin Wildlife Conservation Association, said the black bears usually begin to hibernate in November but are easy awoken.

New Culture View