The controversial contest, held in the forests of the diamond-rich Sakha Republic, is celebrated in the region as a way of recognising the best canine bear hunter.

Attacks by brown bears on humans are a danger in many parts of Russia, particularly at this time of the year as they awake hungry following the long winter hibernation.

Many have to be killed when they encroach into built-up areas looking for food, often with dogs trained to stalk them in order for hunters to shoot them.

But the images of the five-year-old chained up bear being attacked and bitten are likely to anger animal rights and anti-hunting groups in the West.

In Russia, hunting of many kinds is a respected and mainstream activity and such contests as shown on these pictures raise few eyebrows.

The pictures were taken by photo-journalist Spiridon Sleptsov during a visit to the Bayanay Hunting Club, near Yakutsk, where he captured competitors taking part in the 6th Republican contest to find the best individual hunting dog, and the best pairing of dogs, reported The Siberian Times.

The 'sporting event' sees the dogs released about 100 metres(330ft) away from the bear, and they have to rely on scents and traces of the animal to find it within two minutes. Once they have found their target chained to the tree, the dogs have to bark as loudly, and as menacingly, as they can with their cajoling scored out of 100 points. 

The more fearsome the harassment, and the greater the number of bites on the bear, the higher the score for the dog. 

Mr Sleptsov said: 'Ideally after bursting into a loud bark the dog must attack the beast from behind, constantly twisting it around, thereby keeping the bear in one place and giving the hunter an idea of where to go. 'Rating the work in pairs took into account the coherence and mutual assistance between them.

'If only one of the dogs attacked the bear actively, the score was reduced and if the second dog did not pay attention to bear at all, the pair was disqualified.' 

The dogs also have to show how well they can stop a bear from running away, replicating what would happen in the wild if they were waiting for a hunter to come and kill it. The photographer added: 'It was rather hard to calm the over-heated dogs.

'Seeing that their owner was approaching, the dog began to bark at the beast with renewed energy and it took a lot of effort to pull them back from the bear.' 

Unusually warm weather across Russia has prompted bears to awake from hibernation early with warnings that they could attack people as they forage for food. 

A number of sightings of the animals has been made in parts of Siberia and the Far East in recent weeks, much earlier than normal. In the southern Siberian region of Tuva - where about 3,500 bears live - two men were savagely attacked, suffering serious head and arm injuries, with one of them losing an eye. It is thought that the dogs taking part in the competition in Yakutsk were not experienced hunting animals but were instead only there for 'sporting purposes'. 

The bear, called Masha, has been used in the contests for a number of years with claims she enjoys them and has grown to understand the dogs. Mr Sleptsov said: 'To aggressive dogs capable of painful bite, Masha's attitude was different.

'Despite her apparent slowness, her attacks, like any wild animal, were extremely sharp and unexpected. 'To be fair, it should be noted that in all the years of holding such events, no dog has been injured by her paws and teeth.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)