‘I couldn’t believe it’: Man attacked by bear in Mission, B.C.

Gordon Gwyn shows the scratches he received in an encounter with a black bear at his home in Mission on Monday, May 18.

A Mission, B.C., man is stunned after he was attacked by a black bear in the early hours of Monday morning.

Gordon Gwyn says he was alerted to the animal’s presence when his dog “went berserk” at about 3:30 a.m.

“I went out expecting to see a bear and sure enough the bear was there, but every time before now you yell, ‘Hey get out of here’ and they go,” he told CTV News.

But this time was different. Gwyn said he made noise and the bear disappeared from his sight, so he stepped onto his porch to see where it went.

“I couldn’t believe—he started coming up the stairs so now I’m yelling,” Gwyn recalled. “By the time it neared the top of the stairs I was panicking.”

The bear backed Gwyn into a corner as he tried to open the door and get back inside. He says his memory of the next tense seconds is fuzzy.

“It was just a huge jumble at the door there, I’m kicking and yelling and trying to get the screen door open,” he said.

The bear swiped his arm before he managed to get inside, leaving a scratch, but Gwyn says he’s grateful it wasn’t worse.

Thankfully, Gwyn’s wife is a retired ER nurse and was able to give him first aid.

“It got a good swipe on his shoulder,” Yvonne Shelly Holman told CTV News. “I felt like the one thing I could do something about was the wounds.”

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service confirmed to CTV News it is investigating the attack. When officers arrived at the scene, the bear was gone, but they set up a trap and cameras around the property.

“The BCCOS asks residents to take precautions in case of wildlife encounters, including being aware of your surroundings, travelling in groups and carrying bear spray,” the BCCOS wrote in a statement.

After the eventful morning, Gwyn says he’s more surprised than anything.

“It totally shocked me because it’s not a thing that bears around here do, I mean we live with them,” he said. “We yell at them and they go away. This behaviour, I couldn’t believe it. It was just totally against anything I’ve seen before.”

The Holmans say they always keep their garbage secured but they’re going to be more cautious going forward, and maybe purchase a bear banger.

“It’s really gorgeous out here and bears are part of that” Gwyn said. “(I’m) not wanting it to take away my enjoyment of the area but I’m more aware now—bear aware.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Demetra Maragos