A Grand-Barachois area man is grateful to be alive after a terrifying encounter with a bear near his home last week.
Paul Williams, who lives on Kinnear Road, says the bear and her cubs were attracted to garbage at his next door neighbour’s place.
“When the bear started to attack me, all of a sudden the wind stopped. The bear couldn’t smell me. She just turned around. I ran. She took a swipe at me and she got me on the arm.”
Williams said he stabbed the bear with a knife he had in his pocket and was able to use a wood pallet as a shield.
“She was protecting her cubs and she came after me. I have battle scars. But I have nightmares of what happened. The beast weighed I’d say over 450 pounds.”
Williams called 911 and the RCMP responded.
He says officials with the Department of Natural Resources later delivered a bear trap which is now in his backyard.
He also saw the bear near his home earlier in the week.
Williams is trying to raise awareness about the bears and the importance of not leaving garbage around since families with small children live in the area.
The incident was also reported to his local municipality, Beaubassin-Est.
Williams has lived on Kinnear Road for about 28 years and says he has never seen a bear in the area before.
