Quick thinking by forty four-year-old Bindu Mora, saved her by a whisker from a bear attack.
Bindu and her husband Budhu Mora were collecting firewood in a forest near Purilia in West Bengal. Unnoticed, a bear had come in their vicinity. The bear then attacked Bindu from behind. Catching her unwares.
A startled Bindu couldn't even call out to her husband as the bear was charging on to her. But then she recalled an incident that a relative had narrated.
"I remembered hearing from my sister-in-law that bears have sensitive ears," Bindu was quoted by Anandabazar Patrika. She remembered being told that bears have sensitive ears.
So she reached out and grabbed the ears of the bear which didn't expect a counter-attack and began to retreat.
Budhu was just a few feet away collecting firewood but was unaware of the bear attack.
By then Budhu saw his wife fighting it out with a bear and hurled stones at the animal. Unable to fend off the double-team attack, the bear withdrew and ran back into the jungle leaving Bindu with an injury in the thigh.
Budhu Mora then carried his brave wife out of the forest and admitted her in a hospital.
According to the report, Purilia forest department has lauded Bindu's presence of mind and courage and have said that they will bear the cost of her treatment.