Man Punches Black Bear In The Nose
BY Herschel Smith
6 years ago
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.
She kind of shook me a little bit, and I’m still … I’m hitting her steady on the top of the head just as hard as I could swing, man, for dear life,” he said. “I just continue pounding and pounding and pounding and she’s continuing trying to bite me. And like I said … she got a hold of me and then shook me a little bit, then she let go and she took a swat at me. And when she took a swat at me she knocked me about 8 feet over on the concrete.”
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.”
This happened near Waynesville.
WAYNESVILLE – A Haywood County man says he punched a mother black bear in the nose after she came toward him at his home off Liberty Church Road.
Sonny Pumphrey, 78, was working in his driveway Tuesday afternoon when he said he looked up and found himself eye to eye with a black bear, according to a post on his Facebook page.
I’ve hiked and backpacked near this area many times. Honestly, I don’t think I’d be working anywhere around there, even in my own driveway, without carrying a legitimate self defense weapon.
I’m glad he survived, but punching a bear in the nose is not a viable strategy.
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On November 11, 2018 at 11:24 pm, Dan said:
While punching a black bear is obviously not the BEST method of defense against them it can be surprisingly effective. Just as smacking a shark in
the nose can often make them wander off. This is because bears….and sharks….are curious. If hungry they won’t be deterred by our ineffectual flailing. But if they are just curious and checking us out then yes….a smack on the snout can and often does deter them and they move on.
But prudence would dictate you have a more effective means of defense
just in case.
On November 12, 2018 at 9:03 am, Fred said:
Mr. Pumphrey’s description of the fight is excellent stuff. Study it. I could not stop laughing at his description of the fight though. I’m very glad he’s alive but man bears just don’t care. He spooked her cubs and it came at him at a dead run. Ever seen a bear in a dead run after prey, even on TV, you begin to appreciate the fallen nature. He might not have had time to draw if he were armed.
The article also says that the attack was “unexpected and unusual”. Probably more “officials” involved this characterization. NO, a bear with cubs will USUALLY attack a threat, you should EXPECT it.
It really is the government’s imperative to turn you all into dumb prey. Never listen to “officials”. Bears and coyotes don’t care about “officials” and therefor I conclude that bears and coyotes are smarter than most men and certainly smarter than “officials”.
And the guy who came eye to eye? Dear “Officials” why didn’t he hear it lumbering stupidly along? Pfft!
On November 12, 2018 at 5:44 pm, ROFuher said:
Around the family ranch in NV, it is very rare to see a slow moving coyote during daylight–they ass out full tilt as soon as they detect a person or truck. It’s open range cattle & sheep country after all, so they know what to expect from folks.
Night is a different story, though. Our longhorn cattle and half feral horses give them there own medicine back, but they come very close to the house, trying to tease the dogs out of protection.
Crafty bastards through and through.