Bear buries woman alive to eat her later

The woman was found, alive and conscious but badly injured

Brown bears are reasonably common in the forests of Russia's far east (Getty)

A Russian woman has been hospitalised in a critical condition after she was attacked by a bear while she was gathering birch sap in the woods.

Natalya Pasternak, a 55-year-old post office worker, was walking in a forest near Tynda in the Amur Region when the bear attacked her and her dog according to Russian news sources.

Ms Pasternak suffered severe injuries to her head, arms and thighs.

A second woman who was with Ms Pasternak at the time of the attack fled to get help.

When rescuers arrived on the scene they shot the bear dead.

Ms Pasternak was found, alive and conscious but badly injured, under a pile of leaves where the bear had buried her, apparently saving her for its next meal, according to The Siberian Times.

The report said that Ms Pasternak was fighting for her life and that her two adult children were now with her in the hospital.

Bears are reasonably common in the forests of Russia's far east and although attacks on humans are infrequent there have been several deaths from bear attacks in the last year.