quote:

VANCOUVER (CBC) - A Cariboo, B.C., man who was attacked by a bear says he used a stick to put up the fight of his life after he realized he was likely in a fight to the death.




Jim West, 45, was out walking last Saturday morning with his two dogs near 70 Mile House, about halfway between Kamloops and Williams Lake, when he came face to face with an angry mother bear.


"I turned [when] I heard a grunt. All I saw was eyes full of hatred.... I had no option [but] to hit the ground. So I stuck my foot up and tried to kick her in the face," he said.


The bear then attacked him and West soon found himself on the losing side of an ill-matched fight.


"I rolled onto my stomach and clasped my hands at the back of my neck. 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," said West.


Knowing he would likely soon be dead unless he fought back, the injured West picked up a stick and started swinging.


"I swung the stick and broke it over her head. She kind of stood there and shook it off, like she was stunned," he said.


"I realized 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, said West.


The five-foot nine-inch tall man eventually crushed the bear's skull with the stick.


West then managed to get himself to a hospital where the gashes in his body took 60 stitches to sew up.


The incident surprised even the conservation officers, who say West is lucky to be alive.

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Originally posted by peterdk:
"speak softly and carry a big stick" that guy must have been made out of the right stuff.

peter

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams:

quote:

Originally posted by peterdk:
"speak softly and carry a big stick" that guy must have been made out of the right stuff.

peter

From what I saw on TV, it looked more like a short piece of log, 3 to 4 " in diam. about 2 ft. long. Mostly rotten, but hardly a stick.
In fact, it broke up, as he beat on the bear's skull.