Man seriously hurt in Chiang Mai bear attack

A 32-year-old Swiss man sustains serious injuries after being bitten by an Asiatic black bear on Thursday afternoon.  (Photo supplied)
A 32-year-old Swiss man sustains serious injuries after being bitten by an Asiatic black bear on Thursday afternoon. (Photo supplied)

A Swiss man working as a volunteer for a wildlife foundation in Chiang Mai’s Chiang Dao district was seriously injured by an Asiatic black bear while feeding it in its enclosure on Thursday afternoon.

To free himself from its bite, he resorted to cutting his right arm with a knife.
          
The incident occurred in the compound of the foundation. Stefan Claudio Specogna, 32, had extended his arm into the bear’s cage to feed it when the wild animal unexpectedly bit him, refusing to release its grip.

Feeling shocked and fearing for his life, the man decided to use a knife to sever his arm and escape the bear's attack. People who witnessed the incident rushed to give him first aid before sending him to Chiang Dao Hospital with the arm damaged from the elbow down. He was later transferred to a private hospital in Chiang Mai for surgery. The missing part of the arm was found in a shredded condition.

According to reports, the Asiatic black bear had been legally under the care of the foundation, having originally been in the custody of Doi Pha Daeng National Park in Chiang Dao since it got lost in 2013.

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Vocabulary

  • bite (verb): (bite, bit, bitten) to use your teeth to cut into or through something - กัด
  • compound: an area enclosed by a fence or wall, usually in which people work or live - บริเวณ
  • condition: the physical state of a person or animal, especially how healthy they are - อาการ, สุขภาพ
  • elbow: the part in the middle of your arm where it bends - ข้อศอก
  • enclosure: a piece of land that is surrounded by a fence or wall and is used for a particular purpose - สังเวียน, การกั้นรั้วล้อม, กรง
  • foundation: an organisation that provides money for things such as medical research or for a charity - มูลนิธิ
  • grip (noun): an act of holding somebody/something tightly; a particular way of doing this - การยึดเกาะ, การฉวย, การจับ, การกำ
  • incident: something that happens, usually something bad - เหตุการณ์
  • serious (adj): (of a problem) very bad -
  • sever: to break or separate, especially by cutting - ตัดขาด
  • shred: to cut or tear something into small pieces - ตัดหรือฉีกเป็นชิ้นๆ
  • surgery: medical treatment in which a doctor cuts open someone’s body - การทำศัลยกรรม
  • volunteer (noun): someone who is not paid for the work that they do; someone who does something willingly without being required to - อาสาสมัคร
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