A teenager who was fatally attacked by a brown bear and her cubs managed to call her mother during her final moments.
Olga Moskalyova, 19 years old, made three desperate phone calls as she was being attacked, forcing her mother to listen in horror as the tragic event unfolded.
Olga lost her life in 2011 while on an outing with her stepfather, Igor Tsyganenkov.
The two had gone to a river in the village of Termalniy, near Petropavlovsk Kamchatskiy in eastern Siberia, to recover a fishing rod Igor had left behind.
The trip was a common one, which is why Olga’s mother, Tatiana, was initially taken aback when she received an unexpected call from her daughter.
According to the Daily Star, Olga cried out: “Mom, the bear is eating me! Mom, it’s such agony. Mom, help!’
At first, Tatiana assumed Olga was joking until she heard disturbing sounds resembling ‘chewing’.
She recounted: “I heard the real horror and pain in Olga’s voice, and the sounds of a bear growling and chewing. I could have died then and there from shock.”
Unbeknownst to Tatiana, Igor had already been killed when Olga called, suffering a broken neck and crushed head.
Witnessing her stepfather’s attack, Olga tried to flee from the bear but was overpowered and grabbed by the leg.
Olga managed to call her mother, and over three phone calls, Tatiana endured listening to her daughter’s ordeal.
In the second call, Olga said: “Mum, the bears are back. She came back and brought her three babies. They’re… eating me.”
Her final call came nearly an hour after the first, indicating her struggle was nearing its end.
She told her mother: “Mum, it’s not hurting any more. I don’t feel the pain. Forgive me for everything, I love you so much.”
Despite Tatiana alerting police and villagers, begging them to hurry to the river, Olga had already passed, and the bears were still present when Igor’s brother and the authorities arrived.
Tatiana mourned her daughter’s untimely death, remembering: “My daughter was such fun. She was so cheerful, friendly, and warm.
“She had graduated from music school, and just days before the bear attack she got her driving licence.”