The Polar Bear Punchup

Ah, the hardy life of a Canadian hunter.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/11253c97d1da.jpg[/atsimg]

Above is Wes Werbowy after he fended off a polar bear with his fist. Yup... you heard that right, he punched the bear in the nose:

“I came up off the mat with as strong a fist as I could throw and I punched him as hard as I could right on the nose. It was like hitting a bag of thawed hamburger. It was just this tremendous resounding splat.

“Instantaneously, he just changed ends and vanished.”

www.thestar.com...

Waking up in his tent early in the morning to see the bear standing on his rifle and pushing its snout against the mosquito netting of his tent, he did the thing Inuit hunters told him to do.

Give it a good one where it hurts.

Punched a polar bear in the nose?

Have any of you ever seen a polar bear up close? Massive animals.

That guy must own a sporting goods store cause he's got balls.

well done wes.
survival at it most amusing...

reply to post by badgerprints


If that bear had of had its way with Wes, the man would have been breakfast. Yes, polar bears are big... very big and also determined when they want something.

I remember hearing a story when I was living in Yellowknife back in the 1970's. A young native boy was out hunting ptarmigan (a small chicken like bird) with a .22 rifle when he noticed he was being hunted by a polar bear.

Running to the nearest frost heave (a 'pingo'), he climbed up on top of the pile of thawed mud and decided to start peppering the bear with bullets. The bear was trying to climb up onto the pingo, but the muck wasn't letting it because it was too soft.

The boy kept putting rounds into the bears head, but they just richoched off that thick sloping skull and the bear wouldn't stop.

Finally, he aimed and put a round into the bears eye, killing it.

Not a 'nice story', granted, but it had to be done. It was him or the bear because the more he shot at it, the more deterimed the bear got and a .22 just isn't going to be of much use on a polar bear weighing in at over 1000lbs.

They might be nice to look at in a zoo, but if you're alone out on the tundra with one and it's hungry, there can only be two outcomes.

I was reading about this guy last night! Wow. I'm adding this article, it has a video embedded that is an interview with the guide. Very interesting!

punch in nose saves man - video interview

"The bear was like an apparition," he said. "There was no beginning of the movement; there was no subtlety. It was 'Vroomp!' [and] he was there.

"The front of my tent is collapsed inward, and his nose is about two feet from my face."

If Werbowy's situation was not already dire enough, he said the polar bear was standing on his firearm, which he had left at the front of his now-collapsed tent.

So Werbowy said he did what an Inuit elder once told him to do: punch the polar bear in the nose.

reply to post by LadySkadi


I really liked this part from your link:

Later, Werbowy said he was applauded by Inuit elders, who believe the polar bear will never bother another human again.

Enuapik said the advice that saved Werbowy's life is well known to Inuit hunters in Nunavut, which is home to much of Canada's polar bear population.



Read more: www.cbc.ca...

The Inuit should know, since they were around a lot longer than those southern Park Officials.



edit to add that the audio in the link is really worth listening to. Thanks, LadySkadi

[edit on 14/8/10 by masqua]

reply to post by masqua


Interesting the stories that stay with you over the years that end up saving your life. Perhaps there really are no coincidences? Lol. In the interview, he says that it was 20 years ago, or so that he was told the story about an Inuit punching a polar bear in the nose and escaped harm. He said that very story ran through his mind and he literally had time to think that if this was the last thing he was going to do before becoming breakfast, that punch was going to be all he had...

I like his statement about the win-win situation.

He was not hurt, and the bear lived... everybody wins.



[edit on 14-8-2010 by LadySkadi]

Hope he had a change of underwear for that trip.

I've heard stories of people killing Kodiaks Browns with ice picks, fists or small sharp objects great, but this is why I carry a backup gun that never leaves my person in the northern wilderness.

For more fun polar bear stories, pick up a copy of "Th Year Long Day" by Maxwell and Rudd.

Always nice to hear true survival ideas that are proven.

Punch a polar bear in the schnoz, poke a shark in the eye...
Thank God everything has it's weak spot.

I just remember being dragged backwards underwater. I felt along it, I found its eye and I poked it in the eye, and that's when it let go.”

A sharp poke in the eye sees off shark attack in Australia

Fear helps drive a mighty wallop helps too I bet!

peace

edit = bbc code

[edit on 15-8-2010 by silo13]