Man defends himself with shotgun against charging grizzly bear

BELLA COOLA VALLEY, British Columbia -- A father was trying to scare bears away from his yard where his children play. But he ended up firing at the charging grizzly to save his own life.

A Canadian father noticed a group of bears close to a tree in his garden that his children regularly climb on. He decided the bears needed to be discouraged from visiting his property.

So, to scare the bears away, the man left the house and fired his shotgun into the air. As the bears retreated, the man followed to fire a second warning shot. At this point, however, rather than continue to move off, the mother bear turned and charged.

Video recorded by the man's wife shows the dramatic moments that followed. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said from experience he knew this was a "serious charge."

"I knew that if I turned and ran, there would have been contact," he wrote. "I didn't want to blind the sow by hitting her in the face, so I aimed at her right side to hopefully trip her up to buy me enough time to run inside the house."

The video shows the bear stumble, but then get up and continue charging.

"She kept coming towards the house with her mouth open, ready to bite me, and I slammed the door," the man said.

Later, the man trailed the bears and said he found no trace of blood.