MOSCOW: An octogenarian versus a hungry Russian bear. It was a confrontation that could have ended seemingly only one way — and yet shepherd Yusuf Alchagirov was sitting upright in bed this week and happily munching on the three traditional pies that his family had baked in celebration of his survival.

The bear approached Alchagirov, 80, in a raspberry field in the southern Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria last week, but despite his age, Alchagirov showered kicks and headbutts on the animal, and managed to knock it off balance.

The bear, apparently irritated by the feisty shepherd, tossed him off a cliff and sauntered away, said Alchagirov in an interview on local television.

He was hospitalised with bruises, bite wounds and four broken ribs, but was spared a mauling, and released within a few days. It is not known whether the bear suffered any lasting injuries.

“I got off easy. It would have killed me if I'd chickened out,” Alchagirov said.

Bears attack humans only when they are provoked or hungry, according to Russian experts.

By arrangement with Guardian