Man, 80, holds his own to survive fight with hungry bear On paper there was no contest - a hungry bear versus an 80-year-old shepherd. But, remarkably, the octogenarian triumphed, unleashing kicks and headbutts on the bear to knock it off balance. The bear then threw the Yusuf Alchagirov off a cliff, but, despite bruising, bite wounds and broken ribs, he survived to tell the tale. The incident happened in the southern Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria. I got off easy. It would have killed me if I'd chickened out," Alchagirov told a local television station.