A villager in Jiaohe, Jilin province, played dead to save his own life when he was attacked by a black bear, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Collecting mushrooms in a mountain near Dailuhe village on Nov 13, Xia Gaolong woke a hibernating black bear.

His wife, Liu Yuying, was quoted as saying that the black bear left its cave fewer than 2 meters away from Gao and pushed him down on the ground. The bear bit her husband’s head and body and left when he played dead.

Gao stood up and asked two fellow villagers nearby to send him to a hospital. With 40 percent of his face wounded, he needs several surgeries.