Man punches bear in the nose in fight for survival during B.C. beachcombing trip

QUALICUM BEACH, B.C. — A British Columbia man’s beachcombing trip turned into a harrowing fight for survival as a grizzly bear flailed him around “like a puppet.”

Fifty-seven-year-old Randal Warnock says he had been walking on the beach on Brown Island on B.C.’s central coast for about 15 minutes when a bear came out of a bush and attacked him.

Warnock says he tried to reach for his knife but dropped the weapon as the bear started shaking him by his right knee, shredding his jeans.

The BC Ferries captain says he thought he’d die before he punched the bear in the nose.