Frightening moment man is charged by grizzly bear in his backyard
A father trying to protect his family has been filmed shooting a fully grown grizzly bear as it charged at him in his backyard.
Lawrence Michalchuk said he and his family had been living in fear since a female bear and her three cubs had made themselves at home in the backyard of his home in British Colombia.
Unable to go outside without feeling threatened, the 54-year-old decided to fire a warning shot in an effort to scare off the family.
Footage captured by Mr Michalchuk’s wife shows him yelling at the grizzly before it suddenly turns and starts charging him.
Pedalling backwards, Mr Michalchuk raises the 12-gauge shotgun and fires, sending the bear stumbling forward as he makes his escape.
“Are you OK? Oh s**t, where is it? Are you okay? Holy crap, where is she? Where did she go?” his distressed wife can be heard asking as they slam the door shut.
‘What are your choices?’
The Michalchuk family were heavily criticised when they shared the vision to YouTube – but Lawrence says his hands were tied.
“What are your choices? You leave a bear in the yard who thinks it owns your yard … and then your kids go out there?” Michalchuk told the CBC.
“By leaving them on the property, you’re playing Russian roulette, and I’m not doing that with my kids or my family.”
The Canadian native said it’s not uncommon for people in the area to protect themselves from bears with guns, saying he couldn’t let the bear think it owned his property.
“The problem was, I was gone for a bit and they got complacent in the yard and took it as theirs,” he added.
The BC Conservation Service confirmed it’s investigating the incident.
