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Man Fights Off Bear With Old Computer in Siberia

This is not the first instance of technology coming to the rescue in the case of a bear attack. Tambako The Jaguar / Flickr

A man rummaging for scrap metal at a dump in western Siberia had technology to thank after an old computer helped him fend off a hungry bear.

The unidentified man was looking for non-ferrous metals at a dump in the Tomsk region on Saturday when he was spotted by the bear, which immediately rushed toward him, the Interfax news agency reported Monday, citing local ranger Sergei Yelnikov.

When the man saw the bear coming, he picked up a computer that was lying nearby and threw it at the animal, before both ran away in opposite directions, the report said.

"The villager hardly suffered at all; he injured his hand when throwing the device at the bear," Yelnikov was quoted as saying.

This is not the first instance of technology coming to the rescue in the case of a bear attack.

In July, a man in the eastern Sakha republic had an extremely lucky escape after his phone turned on as he was being mauled by a bear.

The phone's startup noise was enough to frighten away the beast, and the man, who had sustained a bite wound to his head, escaped with his life.

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