Maine woman fights off bear that was chasing her dog: ‘A little unnerving’

You should see the other guy.

A Maine woman squared up with a black bear Friday and walked away with a minor wound that required stitches.

Lynn Kelly, 64, slugged the bear in the face after it emerged out of the woods that borders her Porter backyard in hot pursuit of her dog, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said.

The pooch had darted into the trees frantically barking before it was chased out — an action Kelly believes the pup made in an attempt to save her from the potential predator.

Kelly, who was gardening at the time, said she jumped up and tried to scare the bear off, but the typically timid animal stood its ground.

The dog ran into the trees before it was chased out -- as the woman said the canine was trying save her from the bear. — The dog ran into the trees before it was chased out — as the woman said the canine was trying to save her from the bear.

“He was a foot taller than I was and coming at me … I tried to make myself as big as I could and was screaming and yelling,” Kelly told 7 News Boston.

“I had to fight him off because I wasn’t gonna run from him because I know they can catch you.”

Kelly bravely punched the bear in the nose, a move not recommended by wildlife officials.

The woman said the bear ran near her backyard where the dog had been at the time. — The woman said the bear went near her backyard where the dog had been at the time.

The bear briefly latched onto her right wrist, leaving shallow puncture wounds, before retreating to the safety of the woods.

Kelly rushed inside to call an ambulance and she received stitches at Memorial Hospital in North Conway, New Hampshire.

“It just all happened so quick,” she said. “To see a bear up that close was a little unnerving.”

Mark Latti, spokesperson for the Maine Warden Service, said the encounter was unusual for a black bear.

It’s rare for someone to be bitten by a bear in Maine even though the state has one of the largest black bear populations on the eastern seaboard, he said.

The bite was likely brought on by Kelly’s confrontation, which officials warn only further provokes the wild animals.

Officials set up traps in the area to catch the bear alive, but so far there has been no sign of the beast.

It was seen previously in the week eating birdseed in residents’ yards.

Kelly, however, said she realizes how fortunate she is to have come out with minimal injuries.

“I’m very lucky. Very lucky,” she said.

With Post wires