Vitaly Nikolayenko, one of Russia’s most experienced bear experts, was found dead after a savage mauling
A bear expert who dedicated his life to studying the creatures was tragically found dead following a brutal attack, leaving behind a final journal entry for investigators to discover.
Vitaly Nikolayenko, one of Russia’s most seasoned bear specialists, had a deep fascination with brown bears and resided in a single-room cabin on the Tikhaya River banks, providing him with an ideal vantage point to observe these majestic beasts. As a senior ranger in Russia’s Kronotsky Wildlife Reserve, he spent months in solitude in the wilderness, meticulously documenting the bears’ behaviours.
His hundreds of journal entries recorded countless sightings, averaging around 800 bear encounters each year. However, Vitaly’s passion for these animals would ultimately lead to his untimely demise.
In December 2003, he was awaiting a helicopter to transport him out of the reserve amidst snowy, harsh conditions. But when the crew arrived to collect him, Vitaly was nowhere to be seen.
Tour guide Victor Rebrikov revealed to the Los Angeles Times that Vitaly had trailed a large male bear to a lake near his hut. He explained: “Vitaly must have begun to take pictures of the resting bear, but the tree trunks and branches were in the way, and he must have decided to get inside the grove. His footprints lead into the grove after the bear. He approached the bear at a distance of three meters.”, reports the Mirror.
At this point, the beast unleashed its brutal assault. A flare gun, yet to be fired, was discovered near his body, along with a blood-stained camera and a can of pepper spray he had attempted to use in self-defence.
Victor revealed that Vitaly’s final journal entry was a tongue-in-cheek comment about weather predictions.
His grieving widow Tatiana said: “I loved him dearly, and he loved me, too. But he had this other passion in his life which was watching bears, and this passion took him away from me…I knew he would come back, and all my life I was waiting for him.”
Nikolayenko’s demise sent ripples through the wildlife conservation community. Known as “the man who talks to bears,” he often butted heads with others in the scientific field due to his unusually intimate interactions with wild bears – yet his bravery was never in doubt.
In an interview with a Russian journalist, he once admitted: “Sometimes I feel like no one cares about my work. At the reserve, no one cares about my notes and observations. The main thing for them is that I’m here as a scientific entity. I’m sure no one reads my reports.”
When asked about his relationship with bears, Vitaly said: “It’s a very dangerous and unpredictable animal. You can admire the animal, love it, and think about it. But an animal always thinks only of itself.”
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