GRAPHIC PICTURES: Moment police found mauled woman bear BURIED so it could EAT her later
SHOCKING pictures have emerged of a woman who was buried alive by a BEAR so it could eat her later.
Police officer shows bear after it is shot dead
Natalya Pasternak, 55, was only saved when the large bear was shot after police saw her bloodied arm poking out from the pile of earth, leaves and sticks the huge mammal hid her under.
Experts have concluded the bear thought it had killed the postal worker and it was hiding the corpse to feast on later.
The mum of two survived after the friend she was with ran off after the beast struck and raised the alarm.
The pair were collecting birch sap in a forest near Tynda in Amur region, in the Russian Far East, when the animal pounced.
Her dog barked to warn her, but not in enough time for her to avoid the ferocious creature.
She is now fighting for her life in a Russian hospital with her two adult children.
**WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES FOLLOW**
Natalya Pasternak as she was found buried by police
Natalya Pasternak
The bear was shot dead following attack
Experts believe bear would have returned to eat her
The bear evidently thought the woman was dead and sought to bury her and hide its prey, apparently saving its next meal.
"The bear evidently thought the woman was dead and sought to bury her and hide its prey, apparently saving its next meal," reported The Siberian Times.
When rescuers arrived at the scene, the bear attacked them.
They shot the four-year-old female dead.
The paper reported it was then "they noticed the woman's arm, bloodied from claw wounds, jutting out of a pile of leaves and sticks"
She was "alive and conscious,"wrote the newspaper.
The first thing a terrified Mrs Pasternak said was: "Have you killed the bear?"
She suffered serious scalp and thigh wounds, and was in "deep shock".
Doctors at Tynda Hospital said she remained in a 'severe' condition.