CHURCHILL, Man. 鈥� Saved by the cellphone light.
A man walking to his home in Churchill, Man., from a hotel early Saturday morning ran into a polar bear.
Churchill Mayor Mike Spence says the bear scratched the man鈥檚 shirt and bit him somewhere in the back.
Spence says the man pulled out his cellphone as the bear reached for him, but the light startled the bruin, who backed off a bit and then knocked something over.
While the distracted bear looked away, the man bolted to safety.
Taxi driver Roberta Wokes picked up the injured man.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 realize he was hurt,鈥� Wokes said. 鈥淚 noticed puncture marks in the back of his jacket. He was in shock.鈥�
Just before she picked him up, she saw the bear, and honked her horn to chase him off.
鈥淚t was a young male bear and they鈥檙e like teenage boys -- they鈥檙e stupid and they鈥檙e too brave,鈥� Wokes said. She said the bear scurried off into the lumberyard.
Friends of the man took him to hospital.
Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship said it received a report of a polar bear attack in Churchill early Saturday morning. It said the bear was captured later that day and is being housed in its polar bear holding facility for assessment.
Spence did not know the man鈥檚 injuries but has been told 鈥渉e鈥檚 doing OK.鈥�
鈥淭hank God he wasn鈥檛 severely hurt. Polar bears are so quick and unpredictable,鈥� the mayor said.
The last person to be killed by a polar bear in Churchill was in the 1980s, Spence said.
鈥淗ere the man was in the middle of the street, in downtown Churchill, and all of a sudden he got mauled,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he person is lucky. He played his cards right.鈥�
Conservation officials say polar bears become more active at this time of year, and warned area residents to take appropriate precautions, including travelling in groups and avoiding where bears may congregate.
Spence said the town鈥檚 residents are concerned but that 鈥渋t鈥檚 something we live with. It鈥檚 part of what we do.鈥�
(Winnipeg Free Press)
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