A real angry bird! Furious wood grouse attacks snowboarder who sprayed him with snow on a Russian ski slope
- Igor Popeliukh, 27, had hit the slopes with a friend in Sheregesh in Siberia
- The capercaillie, aka wood grouse, is the largest member of the game family
- It’s usually found in Scotland but can also pop up among mature redwoods
A video shows the moment a snowboarder is attacked by an angry wood grouse after it took offence to being sprayed with snow at a Russian ski resort.
The bolshy bird is seen on the footage attacking filmmaker Igor Popeliukh, 27, on the piste at Sheregesh in Siberia, more famous for its annual bikini skiing festival.
‘The capercaillie was offended with such impudence, and made one, two, three attempted punches to my torso,’ he said.
This undated photo shows snowboarder, Igor Popeliukh, 27, spraying snow over the capercaillie minding its own business on the edge of a Siberian ski track
Filmmaker Igor Popeliukh, 27, was attacked on the piste at Sheregesh in Siberia, which is more famous for its annual bikini skiing festival
The Russian is seen on video desperately using his snowboard to fend off the irate male capercaillie that was possibly lovesick.
‘I did not expect such a turn of events,’ posted Popeluikh, from Novosibirsk.
‘I was scared when such a big bird began to attack me.
‘I literally went into a stupor.
‘It was difficult to run away.
‘I was scared to turn my back on it, and I did not want to beat such an animal at all.’
His friend shooting the video is heard urging Popeluikh not to wave his snowboard at the angry bird.
‘Don’t Igor, it’s an animal,’ he shouted.
Not long after, the capercaillie tracks down impolite Igor, thundering through the air towards him on the slope while Igor cocks back his snowboard to defend himself
The ferocious bird, which can weigh up to 9lbs with a wingspan of 4ft, is held back by Igor’s snowboard
Pictured is the snowboard after Igor fought off the bird in Siberia
The filmmaker escaped but soon afterwards came a cropper on a stone hidden in the snow.
He blamed bad ‘karma’ after upsetting the capercaillie.
These birds can weight up to 9lbs and have a wingspan of as much as 4ft.
They can be up to 2ft 7ins in length.
Cocks are prone to aggressiveness when they are lovesick, say reports.