Jade hunter mauled in brown bear attack

A man was disfigured in a prolonged brown bear attack during his recent excursion for jade in the mountains of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Ma Xiaolong, 42 of Gansu province, is waiting to undergo reconstructive surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine at Shihezi University after losing his nose and upper lip in the attack.

"I was so close to death, and I will now cherish my life," said Ma, who claimed he ended the nearly two-minute ordeal by smashing the bear's head with a rock.

Ma, a jade store owner in Dongwan township, also suffered from multiple deep scratches and bite wounds.

"It will take three surgeries to repair the damage," said surgeon Xu Jiang at the hospital.

Ma recalled with grizzly detail the encounter from his hospital bed on May 3.

"I suddenly saw it around one meter away. It was roaring and ran towards me before I realized what was going on," he said. "The bear attacked me about 15 times and I suffered at least 10 injuries,"

Ma finally reached the hospital on early May 2.