A Canadian archery hunter has miraculously been left unscathed after a large black bear charged him.
Richard Wesley was hunting in the wilderness of Fire River, Ontario when he first spotted the bear, which was walking around about 30m away from him, unaware of his presence.
As it begins inching towards him, still not conscious that he is hiding nearby, Mr Wesley becomes aware that he needs to act quickly to avoid the bear getting too close and attacking.
In an attempt to spook the bear and send it running off in the other direction before getting too close, Mr Wesley jumps up out of his hiding spot and yells - but the bear is far from startled, and begins its charge at him.
In a petrifying few seconds, the bear can be seen gathering pace as Mr Wesley screams and hurriedly tries to fire a shot away with his bow and arrow - but the arrow is facing the wrong way, and he is forced to strike it on the head with the bow.
The charge knocks Mr Wesley and his camera to the ground, so it's not clear what happens immediately afterwards - but the bear appears to run off after the attack, leaving Mr Wesley to count his blessings.
"F**k me. I should have shot him a long time ago. Scared me, that guy. Holy f**k," he says.
In his YouTube video description, Mr Wesley explained that he was uninjured except for "a bruised elbow and ego".
"Genuinely happy that this was a non-fatal or tragic outcome," he wrote. "Proving that the black bear is a wild and unpredictable animal."
A total of four people have been killed by black bears in North America in the last five years.
Newshub.
