29-year-old Alexei Koptyakov is one hardcore dude; he managed to survive a bear attack which was so vicious he actually heard his skull ‘crunch’ as it was happening, and he’s had to endure a butt load of surgeries to correct the horrific injuries he suffered.

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Alexei was out hunting with his dog in central Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast region when the bear pounced on him, and at that point he was certain he was going to die.

In fact he hoped he’d be eaten quickly so that he wouldn’t “suffer too much.”

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Much like Leo DiCaprio’s character in the Revenant, the bear battered Alexei, then left him for a bit, and then returned to maul him a second time, during which he passed out.

When he woke up, he managed to crawl out from the woods into the road but his face looked so mangled that several cars refused to stop.

Alexei explained:

I was walking back from a hunt when I heard my dog Thunder pick up a scent, and start barking.

I thought it might be a bird and when I checked it out I found him standing outside a small cave. But inside there was a huge bear, and when it came out it went straight for me.

He attempted to step backwards, but slipped and fell, causing his gun to go off in the process.

I thought the sound would scare the bear off, but it actually made it even more angry and it came at me even faster. I tried to reload the gun, but by then it was already on me. I managed to get one blow at the bear hitting it with the gun, and then it sank its teeth into my head.

I tried to put my hands on my head, but it bit both of my hands and I couldn’t use them after that to defend myself as it bit me on the head again. I curled into a ball, and could hear my bones cracking. That point I didn’t expect to live any longer, I was hoping it would eat me quickly so I wouldn’t suffer too much.

He thought the bear just wanted to teach him a lesson, which is why it left him after extracting its revenge. But then it came back and mauled him again for a few minutes, but he doesn’t remember much after that.

Somehow I managed to crawl to the road. When I saw a passing car, I could not even shout, as my throat was ripped, so I started waving.

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Alexei was finally rescued by a tourist who took him straight to hospital, where he spent 5 days in intensive care.

Doctors had to use parts of Alexei’s pelvis to reconstruct his jaw, and it looks like they’ve done a solid job. Here’s to the rest of his recovery going smoothly.

Believe it or not, it could be worse (NSFL chimpanzee attack).