Montana woman fends off a bear with zucchini!

[joemilitello]

Woman fends off bear attack with veggie

It bopped the bruin on the top of its head

Updated: Friday, 24 Sep 2010, 8:32 AM EDT
Published : Friday, 24 Sep 2010, 8:32 AM EDT

• MATT VOLZ,Associated Press Writer

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A Montana woman fended off a bear trying to muscle its way into her home Thursday by pelting the animal with a large piece of zucchini from her garden.

The woman suffered minor scratches and one of her dogs was wounded after tussling with the 200-pound bear.

The attack happened just after midnight when the woman let her three dogs into the backyard for their nighttime ritual before she headed to bed, Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli said. Authorities believe the black bear was just 25 yards away, eating apples from a tree.

Two of the dogs sensed the bear, began barking and ran away, Maricelli said. The third dog, a 12-year-old collie that wasn't very mobile, remained close to the woman as she stood in the doorway of the home near Frenchtown in western Montana.

Before she knew what was happening, the bear was on top of the dog and batting the collie back and forth, Maricelli said.

"She kicked the bear with her left leg as hard as she could, and she said she felt like she caught it pretty solidly under the chin," Maricelli said.
But as she kicked, the bruin swiped at her leg with its paw and ripped her jeans.

The bear then turned its full attention to the woman in the doorway. She retreated into the house and tried to close the door, but the bear stuck its head and part of a shoulder through the doorway.

The woman held onto the door with her right hand. With her left, she reached behind and grabbed a 14-inch zucchini that she had picked from her garden earlier and was sitting on the kitchen counter, Maricelli said.
She threw the vegetable. It bopped the bruin on the top of its head and the animal fled, Maricelli said.

The woman called for help from a relative staying with her. They found the collie outside, unable to move, and took it to a veterinarian.
The dog appeared to be fine on Thursday, but the vet was keeping it for observation, Maricelli said.

The woman did not need medical attention for the scratches on her leg, though she got a tetanus shot as a precaution, Maricelli said.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials set up a trap in an attempt to capture the bear, the agency said in a statement.

Besides the nearby fruit trees, there wasn't anything on the woman's property that would attract a bear into the backyard, like garbage or livestock feed, wildlife officials said. Maricelli interviewed the woman, but said the sheriff's office was complying with her wish not to identify her.

"She was very, very shaken, and it kind of took the humor portion out of it for me," Maricelli said. "She said it had this horrific growl and was snarling.
"(But) she can see the humor in it, and she wanted the story put out so the local residents can take precautionary measures," he added.

[TheTones]

Terrifying yet awesome at the same time.

[EricPeterson]

Montana women are bad ass.

[Hecube]

I'll be sure to have cucumbers and tomatoes at arms length to pelt eventual home invaders.

[pmcqueen]

not to say that this isn't awesome, but a 200 pound bear is a little guy.. if that were a full grown bear, the headline would be more like "Montana woman and dog tragically mauled by bear"

glad she & her doggy are alright, she definitely has guts to assault a bear of any size.

[Treebeard]

Originally Posted by pmcqueen

not to say that this isn't awesome, but a 200 pound bear is a little guy.. if that were a full grown bear, the headline would be more like "Montana woman and dog tragically mauled by bear"

glad she & her doggy are alright, she definitely has guts to assault a bear of any size.

Um..no.. a 200# Black bear can be full grown...at least a young adult...While boars may grow bigger, many sows never get much heavier..and a bear that size has enough power to easily kill 5 200 lb men without breaking a sweat.. I've watched one that size lift a log with 1 paw that would take you and all your bandmates to lift..Bears are just plain unpredictable.. this one sounds like it was more startled/curious than aggressive/hungry.. thankfully for this woman.. But don't make the mistake of walking up to one of these "little guys" armed with a zucchini and think you can take it

[HeyMrTeleMan]

Zucchini's are my weapon of choice for bear prevention.

Working pretty well so far...

Now I need something to ward off the jackals...

[TommyGuitar]

A 200# black bear is like a 2-3 year old in my experience.

[Big White Tele]

I gotta say, I hate Zucchini as well. A 200 lb black bear is fairly small in our area, but still a lot more dangerous than Id want to beat with a vegetable.

[sodapopinski]

that's crazy... I'm glad all I deal with around here are skunks...

[joemilitello]

Originally Posted by pmcqueen

not to say that this isn't awesome, but a 200 pound bear is a little guy.. if that were a full grown bear, the headline would be more like "Montana woman and dog tragically mauled by bear"

glad she & her doggy are alright, she definitely has guts to assault a bear of any size.

Come on.

She handled a 200 pound black bear with a Chuck Norris kick and a freaking zucchini. Credit where credit is due.

[Frankee]

Originally Posted by EricPeterson

Montana women are bad ass.

Those kind of women won't be welcome in Montana in the near future.

[Phalanx200bc]

* - zucchini was used to fend off lonliness prior to bear attack.

[Midnight Lady]

This is one of my biggest fears - bears. There have been three bear sightings this year nearby. When the dogs go out at night, this is what I think about.

The one(s) seen appear to be young black bears (probably like the one described in this article). I don't like that they're wandering in so close to homes.

Last week my dogs encountered (and were the worse for it) a skunk during their nighttime outing. I still prefer this to the bears.

[joemilitello]

The black bears have been coming into town almost daily over the last few weeks. They are looking for calories before hibernation.

We are also having problems with the grizzlies. The Japanese pine beetle has decimated the whitebark pine forests, and the whitebark pine nut is a staple of their diet.

They are looking elsewhere for food.