12-Year-Old Fights Off Black Bear Attack in Washington Backyard

A 12-year-old boy in Bellingham, Washington, fought off an aggressive black bear that charged him twice in his backyard fruit orchard last Sunday night, escaping with puncture wounds after gouging the animal's eye during the struggle.

Boy Describes a "Fight or Die" Encounter With a Protective Mother Bear

Robin Westgate said he came face to face with the bear while retrieving a bowl from his family's backyard orchard, and the two startled each other before the bear, protective of a nearby cub, charged him twice. The bear bit his wrist and left puncture wounds on his hip during the encounter.

"It was fight or die," Westgate said. "I didn't really have an option. She bit onto my wrist, and I slammed my hand and thumb into her eye."

Black bears are common in Westgate's neighborhood near the Canadian border, so he had already been taught what to do if he encountered one. When the bear charged again, this time toward his father, Noah Westgate stepped in and fought the animal off with a punch he described as the hardest of his life, driving the bear away.