A polar bear attacked a Canadian couple. The incident occurred in Fort Severn, Ontario. The man jumped on the animal to protect his wife from the attack and was injured himself. According to local police, he suffered serious injuries.
The attack occurred just before 5 a.m. local time on Tuesday. The couple left the house to find their dogs. While the couple was standing in their driveway, a bear attacked them.
“The woman fell to the ground and her husband jumped on the bear to prevent the attack. The animal then attacked him, causing serious but non-life-threatening wounds to his arm and legs,” Nishnawbe Aski Police (NAPS) wrote in a statement. A neighbor helped the man fighting the bear. He ran to the scene with a firearm and shot the animal several times. “The bear escaped into a nearby forested area, where it died of its injuries,” it added.
Polar bearTobias/AdobeStock – photo illustrative
“Attacks are rare but not unheard of”
Polar bears can often be seen in the Fort Severn area. “Their attacks are rare, but not unheard of,” a local police spokesman told CNN.
The town of Fort Severn is located near Hudson Bay. The polar bears living there prefer to hunt seals on the sea ice. But when sea ice breaks up, which it did this year much earlier than usual, animals migrate inland in search of food, said Alysa McCall, conservation director and research fellow at Polar Bears International. She added that perhaps the bear was a bit hungrier than usual at the time of the attack. McCall also explained that climate change is affecting how far bears go inland.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) they occur in the Arctic. These are one of the largest bears, males can weigh up to 700 kilograms.
CNN, CTV News, tvnmeteo.pl
Main photo source: Tobias/AdobeStock – photo illustrative