NC Man Fends Off Bear, ‘That sucker was eyeball to eyeball to me’

HAYWOOD COUNTY – What would you do if caught between a mother bear and her cubs? Sonny Pumphrey of Haywood County found himself in just that position; a right hook and Yorkie may have saved his life.

“A Haywood County man says he battled a bear outside his home and he has the scrapes and bruises to prove it, WLOS reported.

Sonny Pumphrey was in his driveway Tuesday afternoon when he says a mother bear and her two cubs showed up. He says the cubs ran off but the mother bear reared up and attacked him.

“She made a charging dead run at me. That sucker was eyeball to eyeball to me,” he said.

Pumphrey says he punched the bear in the nose, but then she dropped down and bit his hip.

[…]

Sonny’s wife Betty heard the screams and rushed to his aid along with their little Yorkie, stunned at the sight of a large black bear in their driveway.

“I saw her stand up and rear her paw back and all I seen (sic) was a mouthful of teeth,” she said. “And I just knew he was going to be gone.”

The commotion scared the bear off and Betty called 9-1-1.”

Read more from Sonny about how he punched his way out of a bear attack here.

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