Hiker Filmed Bear Charging at Him Moments Before Plunging to His Death in Greece

In June, a hiker plummeted to his death after he was attacked by a brown bear and fell off the edge of a cliff, into a 2,600 ft ravine in northeastern Greece.

A chilling video now shows the hiker’s final moments as the cellphone footage shows him being charged at by the bear, before the fatal fall.

Christos Stavrianidis, 61, recorded his encounter with the bear while hiking with his dog and a friend in Fraktos – a forest near the border the country shares with Bulgaria – on June 9.

Stavrianidis, 61, recorded his encounter with the bear while hiking, with his dog and a friend, in Fratko forest in the north of the country. The 49-second clip depicted a large brown bear moving toward the hiker.

Seconds later, Stavrianidis fell from the cliff as his screams echoed. In the footage, Stavrianidis calls for his friend Dimitris. “Where are you? Come! Come to me,” he said as the bear approached him. Stavrianidis’s dog barked furiously at the bear, in an attempt to protect its owner.

The clip ends with Stavrianidis screaming as he plummets into the ravine. Dimitris explained that the friends had become separated because Stavrianidis wanted to see the view from the top of a peak. He told the Greek Media, “[The bear] attacked… I saw it two or three meters in front of me. I didn’t even have time… I was really stunned.”

Panos Stefanou, a spokesperson for Arcturos, a non-profit wildlife organization, told Greek state-run television station, ERT, that the bear was probably trying to protect itself. “This is more a defensive behavior, not an attack. The bear is trying to push back what it sees as a threat,” he said.

Dimitris survived after he climbed a tree and eventually called for help. Stavrianidis was found in the ravine, taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead from his injuries

According to Arcturos, there are likely about 450 to 500 brown bears living in Greece, with the largest populations concentrated in two of Greece’s mountain ranges, including Rhodope, where Fraktos is located.