A man who was attacked by a black bear while walking his dogs survived only after crushing the creature’s skull with a stick.
Jim West needed 60 stitches on his head and body to close wounds from the terrifying attack.
The 45 year old was out walking his dogs on Saturday in British Columbia, Canada, when, he said, he heard a grunt and turned around.
‘All I saw was eyes full of hatred,’ he said afterwards.
‘I had no option … So I stuck my foot up and tried to kick her in the face.’
The bear responded by attacking him and knocking him to the ground.
‘I rolled onto my stomach and clasped my hands at the back of my neck,’ Mr West said.
‘She tore into my skull at the back of my head, moved over and bit me on the left side of my body, on my ribs and left arm.’
But Mr West was not about to go down without a fight. Battling to his feet, he managed to grab a stick about as thick as his arm.
‘I said, in effect, bring it on sweetie,’ he said. ‘I took one step forward — smash! I swung the stick and broke it over her head.
‘She kind of stood there and shook it off, like she was stunned. I realised if I didn’t continue the attack she would knock me to the ground again and I would not get up.
‘I swung my piece of wood like a sledgehammer driving spikes and I kept swinging till she was lying flat on the ground and there was blood coming out of her nose.’
The 5ft 9in man eventually crushed the bear’s skull with the stick, killing it. He then walked a mile to a local lodge, where he was transported to hospital.
Even conservation officers were shocked by the terrifying incident, saying they were surprised he had lived.
Sadly, the bear was the mother of two young cubs – who had to be euthanised because it was believed they would not survive the cruel Canadian winter without her.