Karate expert, 50, fights off bear by kicking it twice in the face when it attacks him before hapless predator runs away into the mountains in Japan

A karate expert managed to fend off a bear attack that he thought would cost him his life by kicking the animal twice in the face, Japanese media report.

Masato Fukuda was only slightly injured in his encounter with a pair of bears in the town of Nayoro, on the northern island of Hokkaido, on Thursday morning, police said.

He was hiking to see a waterfall in the mountainous area of ​​Nayoro around 10:30 a.m. when he chanced upon the two brown bears poking their faces out of the bushes, Japanese media reported.

The two bears chose the wrong person to mess with when they approached the 50-year-old, who was visiting the forest area from Toyota City.

One of them approached him – but unfortunately for the animal, Mr Fukuda had experience in the martial art of karate.

Masato Fukuda was only slightly injured in his encounter with some bears on Thursday morning. He is pictured here speaking to Japanese TV channel NHK

“I thought I had to make my move or I will be killed,” he told a local broadcaster.

Mr Fukuda kicked him twice in the face, twisting his leg, but otherwise escaped unharmed, he told reporters.

The day tripper said that although he managed to scare off one of the predators, the other initially kept his distance and appeared threatening.

Startled, Mr Fukuda walked back to his car and managed to capture a video of the animal looking down at him.

The footage shows him peering at him from the forest before turning and running into the mountains.

‘I was just lucky. The bear happened to run away, so I was saved, but if the bear had just jumped at me, I wouldn’t have had a chance,” Mr Fukuda said. STV.

According to Japanese media, both animals appeared to be about 1.5 meters long. Brown bears can weigh half a ton and outrun a human.

The Ussuri brown bear found on Hokkaido is a slightly smaller cousin of the grizzly bear, but much larger than the Japanese black bear on mainland Japan.

File image shows an adult female brown bear hunting salmon in Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido

The number of bear reports received in Hokkaido this month has exceeded 100, much higher than in previous months, news outlet reports NHK reports, citing the police.

There have reportedly been numerous bear sightings in Nayoro City this month, and police are conducting patrols to warn residents.

Authorities in the area have urged hikers to be vigilant while enjoying the forests, especially as bear sightings in the area are on the rise.

It comes after a bear attacked a tourist in Europe this week, who also luckily managed to escape.

British holidaymaker Moira Gallacher was mauled on the arm by a brown bear in Romania but was saved by her “fat M&S ​​jacket”, a friend traveling with her revealed this week.

According to reports, the zookeeper suffered only minor injuries in the attack

In another terrifying episode in China, a zookeeper was attacked by pandas, who gnawed on her in front of shocked visitors.

The woman was jumped after bringing snacks into the huge bear enclosure, and was only rescued when a colleague came to her rescue.

Fortunately, she reportedly suffered only minor injuries in the attack.