Cyclist fends off bear attack using bike in British Columbia forest
A man from British Columbia was riding his bike through the forest when he suddenly encountered a mother bear with cubs on his path. However, he defended himself from the attack in an unusual way. He used his bike, hitting the confused animal on the snout. Fortunately, the cyclist emerged from the dangerous situation unscathed.
The man was biking along a forest trail towards Anderson Flats National Park in the western part of British Columbia, and that's where he encountered the mother bear with two cubs, foraging for berries, reported forest ranger Matthew Corbett to the "Victoria News" portal.
The mother bear is known to forest rangers and had previously run away at the sight of humans. However, as Corbett mentioned, this time she was likely startled by the cyclist and attacked him, pinning him to the ground.
The cyclist managed to place his bike between himself and the animal, protecting himself from bites. He remembered an old piece of advice that if you hit a bear on the nose, it will run away. He followed this advice, and the mother bear indeed fled.
The forest service warns tourists
The Forest Service does not intend to search for the mother bear, assuming it was just a defensive attack.
Public broadcaster CBC recalled a similar story from 2017 on its portal about a man, also from British Columbia, who was attacked by a young grizzly, and who defended himself by first hitting the animal on the nose, and then with a piece of wood lying nearby.
British Columbia is bear country. It doesn't matter where you live or spend your free time; even in urban areas, you will be close to bears and their habitats - warned the British Columbia Ministry of Environment for 30 years.
