Story By:  Gheorghi Caraseni, Sub Editor:  Joseph Golder,  Agency: Central European News

This park ranger cheated death after being attacked by a wild boar which tore his neck open just millimetres from an artery.

The incident took place after ranger Philip Korobeinikov had gone to try to take a photograph of the boar in the n Altai State Nature Reserve with its territory covering Ridersky and Altai administrative districts in eastern Kazakhstan.

Korobeinikov and his assistant Zhiger Kinezskhanov had reportedly spotted the boar’s tracks in the snow as they were skiing in the park and he decided to follow the traces on his own as his assistant was not feeling well.

He said: “When I got down the hill I saw a wild boar in the bushes and hurried to capture it in a photo as I wanted to see how my new camera worked – my son had just presented it to me the other day.”

He said the animal was confused “but I didn’t get that sign (of an attack) as they normally act this way when try to avoid conflict”.

Korobeinikov took another step towards the animal when it attacked him, tearing his clothes and the skin on his necks, sides and head.

He says he managed to grab the boar’s fang which caused him significant pain but made the animal step back and run away.

He called for his assistant to help him and Kinezskhanov says he found the ranger unconscious with blood all over the area where the fight took place.

The assistant added: “I could not carry him up the hill by myself and called the nearby ranger and ambulance so we carried Philip to the road where an ambulance took him to the hospital.”

Doctors said the ranger had been lucky to survive as the boar had torn his neck just a couple of millimetres from the carotid artery.

He suffered severe injuries to his head and a broken rib and remains under observation in hospital in good condition.

Local media report specialists have suggested the ranger had encountered a male boar during mating season when males become aggressive to protect the females and their territory.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.