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Man, 78, Punches Bear In The Face During Attack

Man, 78, Punches Bear In The Face During Attack

He came face-to-face with an angry bear and her two cubs outside his home

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

You may have heard about UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov wrestling bears in his youth, and while that's all very impressive, this elderly US man has definitely one upped him by getting into a fight with a black bear outside his house and punching it squarely in the face.

Sonny Pumphrey, 78, was cleaning some fallen leaves on his driveway in White Oak, North Carolina, when he came face-to-face with a mama bear and her two cubs. Enough to put the shits up any other man, but not Sonny.


As the two cubs scarpered, he quickly realised that the adult bear was going nowhere and that he had no choice but to front her. The bear ran at him, on the attack, and Sonny did what felt natural to him at the time - he punched her in the face. Yup. This guy full-on punched a bear in the face.

Speaking to ABC about the incident which happened on Tuesday, he said: "I had nowhere to run. I could not go right and I couldn't go left.

"I guess I just went with my natural instinct and just tried to protect myself.

"I had nothing in my hands, so I just started slugging at the bear as hard as I could."

He says he managed to land a few punches on the bear, before she got a hold of him and started to jerk him around 'like a rag doll'.

Fortunately for Sonny, his wife Betty was alerted to the commotion outside and ran out, with the family dog, a teeny Yorkshire Terrier, to scare the animal away. This is some couple, eh?

Betty told the news outlet: "I was scared to death that she was going to kill my husband. He was fighting for his life."

Seventy-two-year-old Betty added: "The door was open, and I saw the bear attacking him.

"I didn't hesitate, I just went through the door and screamed, and then with the little dog barking, we tried to, you know, get the bear away from him.

"I guess with all the commotion, it startled her, and she turned and ran."

A black bear. Would you even dare try and punch this?
PA

Once the bear had vamoosed Betty calmly went back inside and called 911. An ambulance arrived, and Sonny was taken to hospital where he given rabies shot, just in case, and sent home to recover on Friday.

He said the attack left him 'sore all over'. Well you did just wrestle with a fucking bear, mate.

Adding that he would no longer be leaving his house with a gun.

He said: "I got lucky. I am one lucky individual to be alive today." Lucky and nails.

Featured Image Credit: ABC/WLOS

Topics: US News, Animals