A man is recovering from serious injuries after leaping onto a polar bear to protect his wife from being mauled by the animal, according to police in Canada’s Ontario province.
A man and a woman in the town of Fort Severn had left their home before 5 a.m. local time to look for their dogs and, while in the driveway, “a polar bear lunged at the woman,” Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) said in a news release Tuesday.
“The woman slipped to (the) ground as her husband leapt onto the animal to prevent its attack. The bear then attacked the male, causing serious but non-life-threatening injuries to his arm and legs,” the service added.
The man “is expected to recover,” police said.
While the man grappled with the animal, “a neighbour arrived with a firearm and shot the bear several times. The bear retreated to a nearby wooded area where it died from its injuries,” NAPS said.
Police officers, who arrived at the scene after receiving reports of gunfire and a possible bear sighting in the area, “located a deceased polar bear,” the service said, adding: “Police continued to patrol the area to ensure no other bears were roaming the community.”
While polar bear sightings in the area are common, attacks are “rare but not unheard of,” a police spokesperson told CNN affiliate CTV News.
Fort Severn is located near Hudson Bay.
Polar bears around the bay prefer to hunt seals while out on the sea ice, but when the ice breaks up, which occurred earlier than usual in southern Hudson Bay this year, they head inland to search for food, Alysa McCall, director of conservation outreach and a staff scientist at Polar Bears International, told CNN affiliate CBC News on Tuesday.
At the time of the attack, “maybe this bear was a little hungrier than usual,” she added.
McCall said changing sea patterns due to climate change could impact how far inland bears go throughout the year and recommended locking away waste in order not to attract them.
“If you’re attacked by a polar bear, definitely do not play dead — that is a myth,” she added. “Fight as long as you can.”
