A bear researcher who dedicated decades to living amongst the animals was discovered dead following a brutal mauling – with a final journal entry left behind for investigators.

Vitaly Nikolayenko, amongst Russia’s most seasoned bear specialists, was captivated by brown bears and resided in a single-room cabin on the Tikhaya River’s banks, enabling him to study the massive creatures. As a senior ranger within the nation’s Kronotsky Wildlife Reserve, he endured months living in isolated conditions throughout the wilderness, recording the bears’ behaviour.

He documented sightings across hundreds of journal entries, averaging 800 bear encounters annually. Yet Vitaly’s obsession with the animals would eventually lead to his demise.

In December 2003, he awaited a helicopter to transport him from the reserve amid snowy, harsh weather. When the crew turned up to collect Vitaly, however, he had vanished.

Tourism guide Victor Rebrikov told the Los Angeles Times that Vitaly had tracked a large male bear to a lake near his cabin. He said: “Vitaly must have begun to take pictures of the resting bear, but the tree trunks and branches were in the way, and he must have decided to get inside the grove. His footprints lead into the grove after the bear. He approached the bear at a distance of three meters.”, reports <a href=”https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/bear-experts-chilling-final-journal-36259879″ rel=”Follow” target=”_self”>the Mirror</a>.

The beast then launched a brutal attack.

A flare gun, which had not been fired, was discovered next to his lifeless body, along with a blood-stained camera and a can of pepper spray that he had attempted to use in self-defence.

His final journal entry, according to Victor, was a tongue-in-cheek comment about weather predictions.

His grieving widow, Tatiana, said: “I loved him dearly, and he loved me, too. But he had this other passion in his life which was watching bears, and this passion took him away from me…I knew he would come back, and all my life I was waiting for him.”

The death of Nikolayenko sent shockwaves through the wildlife conservation community.

Known as “the man who talks to bears,” he often found himself at odds with many in the scientific community due to his unusually close work with wild bears – but his bravery was never in doubt.

In an interview with a Russian journalist, he once said: “Sometimes I feel like no one cares about my work. At the reserve, no one cares about my notes and observations. The main thing for them is that I’m here as a scientific entity. I’m sure no one reads my reports.”

When asked about his relationship with bears, Vitaly stated: “It’s a very dangerous and unpredictable animal. You can admire the animal, love it, and think about it. But an animal always thinks only of itself.”