Manitoba woman escapes injury after fighting off mother bear in front yard
A Manitoba woman is resting at home after she fought a mother bear with her cubs in her front yard.
The incident was captured on her home security camera, and comes as the province is seeing increased black bear sightings this summer.
Diane Fillion said it all happened in an instant on Saturday afternoon.
She was playing with her dog in the front yard of her Lac du Bonnet home when they came face to face with a bear and her three cubs.
"We’ve got myself and my dog and three bears all looking at each other," she told CTV News. "The dog put one of the cubs in the tree, and then the mom came after my dog, and the fight started.”
Fillion said she backed out of her yard while making noise and trying to look big, but when her dog ran away, the bear came charging towards them.
Video from her security camera shows the bear running at Fillion who was wielding a stick at the time.
"I thought I had tripped, and then we pulled our security cameras and then we realized no, the bear actually hit me.”
Fillion said after the bear knocked her down, it climbed into a tree with the cubs.
Manitoba Conservation came to assess the situation and determined the best course of action would be to wait until the bears left – which they eventually did.
Pauline Bloom, a wildlife biologist for the province, said Manitoba has seen an increase in reports of bear sightings in cottage country and towns near heavily forested areas.
She said the lack of rain in the province this summer is part of the issue.
"There’s a lot less water on the landscape for bears to access," she said. "So they’re out on the land looking for permanent sources of water, and they’re also looking for food.”
Bloom said the drought has also impacted wild berry crops, which bears would normally feed on.
Fillion managed to escape her bear encounter with minor bumps and bruises, but she said it could have been a lot worse.
"We don’t believe that she was trying to be mean," Fillion said. "She was just like, ‘Get away from my babies,’ and she made her point, and we said, ‘OK.’”
Bloom said keeping your yard clean, storing garbage bins in your garage or shed, and removing your bird feeder in the summer months will reduce the chances of coming into contact with a bear.
She said if you have a clean space, bears may come through but they won’t stick around.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
18 children, 3 adults killed in Texas elementary school shooting
An 18-year-old gunman opened fire Tuesday at a Texas elementary school, killing at least 18 children, officials said, and the gunman was dead.

U.S. senator begs for gun compromise after Texas shooting
Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who came to Congress representing Sandy Hook, begged his colleagues to finally pass legislation addressing the nation's gun violence problem as the latest school shooting unfolded Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.
Language law Bill 96 adopted, promising sweeping changes for Quebec
Bill 96, the provincial government's controversial legislation aimed at protecting the French language in Quebec, has been adopted in the National Assembly.
RCMP suspend flights at Victoria International Airport after suspicious package discovered
Travellers who have a flight planned at Victoria International Airport (YYJ) on Tuesday afternoon are being warned of travel disruptions due to police activity.
Many Ontario residents could be waiting several days for power after storm
Provincial provider Hydro One said Tuesday afternoon that more than 142,000 customers in parts of Ontario were still without power after a devastating weekend storm.
Society 'may not survive' Putin's war, says billionaire George Soros
Russia's invasion of Ukraine may have marked the start of "a third world war," and Russian President Vladimir Putin must be defeated "as soon as possible" if the world wants to preserve civilization, said billionaire and philanthropist George Soros.
Hedley frontman Jacob Hoggard denies rape allegations at sex assault trial
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has emphatically denied raping a teenager and a young woman nearly six years ago, testifying Tuesday that both encounters were consensual and "passionate."
Canada sending more artillery to Ukraine, 'crucial' to fight against Russia: Anand
Canada is sending an additional 20,000 rounds of ammunition to Ukraine for the Ukrainian military to use in its ongoing defence against the Russians. This ammunition—155mm calibre, as well as fuses and charge bags—is being donated, but comes at a cost of $98 million, according to the federal government.
Ukraine: 200 bodies found in basement in Mariupol's ruins
Workers digging through the rubble of an apartment building in Mariupol found 200 bodies in the basement, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday, as more horrors come to light in the ruined city that has seen some of the worst suffering of the 3-month-old war.