Fishermen rescued two drowning wild brown bear cubs in a Russian lake with video footage showing the remarkable affinity between beast and man.
In the footage, thought to have been taken last month, the wild animals had lost their mother crossing the lake after she overestimated their swimming abilities.
The bear can be seen desperately trying to drag itself onto the boat, even using its mouth to try and get a grip of the vessel
‘But she overestimated her strength and swam away.
‘The cubs began to sink.
The bear appears to tire as its attempt to board the boat falters. At this moment, one of the fishermen uses a net to give the animal a helping hand on board
The bear appeared to be shivering as it struggled to leave the water. Its razor sharp claws were hooked into the boat
Eventually, the bear is brought on board with the help of the net and saved from drowning
The men talk back to cub, encouraging it, as if it was a human child.
The second bear with a dark face is lifted out of the lake, too, and carried on netting on the boat, totally exhausted from the ordeal in the water
The men took them to one of 500-plus islands on the lake – where their mother had swum, evidently unaware of the desperate plight of her offspring
The men took the bears into the trees hoping that their neglectful mother would find them and help them recover
The bear cub – helped by Man 2 and a net – managed finally to clamber on board the boat.