One Canadian man was enjoying the great outdoors on his spring hunt when he happened upon a black bear in the distance. He stayed calm and patiently waited for the bear to pass without disturbing it. The bear had other ideas, however.
Richard Wesley, a locomotive engineer and “proud North American native,” living in Hearst, Ontario captured every hunter’s worst nightmare on camera.
An experienced hunter, Wesley knew that black bears will often bluff when charging, so he stood his ground and made lots of noise to scare the bear off.
In this case, unfortunately for Wesley, the bear meant business and proceeded to leap at him. Black bears are excellent at climbing and most bears can outrun humans so Wesley was forced to do the unthinkable: Fight a bear with his bare hands.
“I should have shot a long time ago,” Wesley says in the aftermath of the thankfully brief attack.
“I am so happy after this confrontation with a black bear during our spring hunt,” Wesley wrote under the video of the incident, which he uploaded on May 22.
“No wounds except a bruised elbow and ego where the bear threw me down. Genuinely happy that this was a non-fatal or tragic outcome. Proving that the black bear is a wild and unpredictable animal. Again so happy with the outcome,” he added.