INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

A Russian Toddler Survived Three Days In Siberia, Emerged From Bear-Infested Woods Without A Scratch

By Aaron Homer
Published on: 04:42 PST, Sep 23, 2016

A Russian toddler survived for three days alone in a bear-infested forest, braving near-freezing temperatures and having nothing to eat but some chocolate, The Siberian Times is reporting.

Three-year-old Tserin Dopchut was under the watchful eye of his great grandmother when he wandered off into the taiga – that is, the thick, snow-covered forest that serves as a border between civilization and the permanently-frozen Arctic tundra. Authorities believe he may have followed a puppy into the woods.

The area from which Tserin disappeared is almost impossibly remote. The village of Khut – a collection of 63 huts housing some 400 people – is hundreds of miles from the nearest city. Authorities say the entire village came together to look for the boy.

Ayas Saryglar, the regional emergencies chief, explained the dangers the young lad faced while he was lost in the woods.

“Of course, the situation was very dangerous. The River Mynas is fast and cold. If a small child fell in, it would be certain death. There are wolves, and bears in the forest. The bears are now fattening for the winter. They can attack anything that moves. In addition, it is warm during the day, but at night there are even frosts. If we consider that the kid disappeared during the day, he was not properly dressed – only a shirt and shoes, no coat.”

So how did the young boy survive? Authorities say he kept his cool and didn’t panic, and that likely saved his life. His father is in the Russian army, and his people have been surviving in the area for thousands of years, so he likely had some familiarity with the woods. Rescuers believe that he found a relatively safe and dry spot under a larch tree, where he slept. He also had some chocolate in his pockets to eat.

Villagers and Russian authorities launched a frantic search for the boy, covering hundreds of square miles with helicopters and search dogs. After three days, it was his uncle who found him. Authorities say he responded to the call of his uncle’s voice.

“Hurray! Little Tserin has been found alive!”

He was found less than three kilometers (less than 1.8 miles) away from his home.

The first thing Tserin asked for, once he was found, was his favorite toy car, according to regional head Sholban Kara-Ool.

“He recognized his uncle’s voice calling his name, and called back. Once his uncle hugged him, the little boy asked if his toy car was okay.”

Surprisingly, not only was Tserin found alive, but he was no worse for the wear, without a single scratch on him. Shocked villagers have now taken to calling the young lad “Mowgli,” after the young boy in The Jungle Book who manages to survive alone in the jungle.

Kara-Ool jokingly predicts that Tserin will himself grow up to be a member of a search-and-rescue team.

“It is now predicted he will become a rescuer himself, because he showed incredible stamina for his age by surviving for so long alone in these cold woods.”

This is not the first time that a small child has emerged unscathed from an ordeal in the woods. Earlier this summer, Japanese boy Yamato Tamooka spent six days alone in bear-infested woods after his parents left him there as punishment (they had only planned to leave him there for a few minutes but he got lost). As The Inquisitr reported at the time, Yamato survived by hiding out in an empty military building and drinking water from a tap.

[Featured Image by Krylova Yulia/Shutterstock]

Share this article: A Russian Toddler Survived Three Days In Siberia, Emerged From Bear-Infested Woods Without A Scratch
kids russia
More from Inquisitr