Remarkable footage showing fishermen rescuing two wild brown bear cubs who were drowning in a lake has been released.
The heart-warming videos shows how these frightened bear cubs placed their complete faith in the tourist fishermen and highlights the bond between man and beast.
One of the cubs can be seen frantically trying to pull itself on board, even using its mouth for some extra grip.
Without the fast actions of the fishermen, the cubs would have certainly drowned.
You can see the fear and desperation in the eyes and facial expressions of the bears, they instinctively knew that the fishermen were their only hope at survival.
Ruslan Lukanin, one of the fishermen said: ‘They had swum[across the lake] with their mother. But she overestimated her strength and swam away, the cubs began to sink.”
“We picked them up and dragged them to the island to which their mother had swum. It was dangerous, of course, but they are living creatures we couldn’t just look the other way.”
The bears seemed to be pleading with the fishermen to save them, and it made them really think, they were rescuing wild animals which could also attack them.
One of the fisherman used a net to help bring the bear who was shivering on board.
Eventually, after quite the ordeal, the bear comes on board with the help of the net and is rescued from a sad demise.
Eventually, the bear is brought on board with the help of the net and saved from drowning
In the video, the men talk to the cub, trying to encourage it as if it was a human able to understand them.
“Don’t be afraid, just don’t be afraid. We’ll rescue you, don’t be afraid. It’s heavy! The net is rotating.”
They were taken to one of the islands close by where their mother was waiting for them, seemingly unaware of the struggle her cubs had gone through.
The second bear who had a darker face was also rescued from the lake, completely exhausted from the ordeal.
“They were too weak to walk by themselves,” said one of the fishermen.
Great work from these two, risking their lives for the greater good, well done!