Tourists were left fearing for their lives after an albino bear began charging towards them while they were climbing a volcano.
The group of seven mountaineers had just embarked on the second day of their climb when they came across two bears and one of them attempted to attack.
The two women and five men from the Ukraine had come to Dogubayazit, Turkey, on June 24 to climb Mount Ararat.
The volcano is also the country’s highest peak and was declared by the Agri Governorate to be a ‘special security zone’ in 2015, when it was closed to climbing because of the military operations carried out due to terrorist incidents.
The site was opened once again for climbs in February 2021 when the ban was lifted, and domestic and foreign tourists began visiting Mount Ararat from all over the world and trying to reach its summit once again.
(Image: @araratadventures/Newsflash)
But it seems that rare albino bears had also moved into the area and clashed with a group of native brown bears.
The white bears, which are also known as ‘Kermode’ or ‘Spirit’ bears are incredibly rare – they are thought to have a population of less than 1,000 and are a subspecies of the black bear.
The Ukrainian climbers had started to climb together with their guide Saffet Akkus when they encountered one.
The mountaineers, who reached the base camp at 3,200 metres on the first day, had continued their climb after spending the night there. When they reached 3,800 metres, they came across the albino with a brown bear.
(Image: @araratadventures/Newsflash)
While the brown bear (Ursus arctos) ran away, the albino bear wanted to attack the group.
The terrifying moment was captured on one tourist’s phone camera’s before they too turned and ran for their lives.
In the footage, the albino bear can be seen coming out from behind the rocks and roaring as it runs towards the screaming climbers.
Frightened off by the noise, the albino bear then apparently turned around and was last seen disappearing towards the summit.
Saffet Akkus, 31, who has been guiding on Mount Ararat for 16 years, said it was the first time he had ever witnessed anything like it.
“It took seconds for the bear to rush towards us to attack us when we heard his voice,” he recalled. “It was a bear as white as a polar bear. I had never seen a bear on Mount Ararat until today. It was a huge bear.
(Image: @araratadventures/Newsflash)
“When we all started screaming at the same time, the bear changed direction and disappeared. We felt very lucky. In the first half-hour after the incident, everyone was in shock. We went back to our first campsite.
“After getting over the shock, we decided to complete the climb. Everyone was so excited to see an albino bear. It is very interesting that we saw the bear there. The climbing route is so crowded that no animal can come there easily.”
He added: “But we are certainly very lucky. We had an event that we will never forget.”
Albino bears rarely attack humans on sight, and they usually avoid people. They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and may attack if they feel threatened.