French village stages fake bear battle for annual Bear Festival

PRATS DE MOLLO, France, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A French village celebrated its annual Bear Festival in a traditional-yet-unusual way -- with a man dressed as a bear mock-battling pretend hunters.

Video of the celebration Sunday in Prats de Mollo shows a resident of the Pyrenean village dressed in black lambskin with his face painted black with soot to resemble a bear.

The faux-bear then engaged in a mock battle with a group of men dressed as hunters.

The festival, an annual tradition celebrating the start of spring, was inspired by the bears that used to come down from the Pyrenees in late February after their winter hibernation.