Conservation officers are investigating video of a hair-raising grizzly bear encounter from the small B.C. community of Bella Coola.
The YouTube video, which was uploaded on Oct. 14, begins with Lawrence Michalchuk trying to shoo a mama grizzly and her cubs off his property with a shotgun.
But seconds after he fires a warning shot, the protective sow turns and begins rushing directly at him.
"She's charging," a woman behind the camera says. "Oh, God."
With mere moments to spare, Michalchuk fires another round directly at the bear, causing it to tumble onto the ground. But that only affords him a few seconds to run off before the grizzly gets back on its feet and gives chase.
Fortunately, Michalchuk lived to tell the tale.
He's taken some criticism on social media for going outside to spook the bears, leading him into a life-or-death situation where he was forced to open fire, but Michalchuk told CTV News he was only trying to protect his family.
"My concern is that my kids could have been easily killed," he said. "God, that chokes me up just thinking about it."
His family has been attacked by bears before; his daughter's arm was badly injured during a previous bear encounter, and Michalchuk said he needed to send a message to the grizzlies to keep off their property.
"There's no other choice. What, do I stay in the house and never go outside?" he said. "Bears take territory, whether it's from another bear or whatever, they just keep pushing."
He blames bear tourism for making grizzlies more habituated to humans.
Michalchuk also insists he never intended to do serious harm to the animal. When he went outside to confront the bear, his shotgun was only loaded with birdshot.
Michalchuk began by firing two warning shots to scare the grizzlies away. The third shot that knocked the charging sow off its feet, potentially saving his life, was his last round.
He told CTV News he aimed away from its head to avoid blinding the bear, and went for its leg instead. His strategy apparently worked, giving him enough time to get indoors, but just barely.
On his YouTube video, he wrote that the bear "kept coming towards the house with her mouth open, ready to bite."
In the end, he's hopeful he sent a clear message to keep away from his home.
"It probably worked out good because the bear's alive and I'm alive," Michalchuk told CTV News.
He said he spoke with conservation officers, who watched the video and said he was "totally justified" in defending himself. Still, the BC Conservation Officer Service told CTV News it has launched an investigation.
Bella Coola is located in the heart of B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest, which is also homes to black bears and the rare white-furred Kermode, or Spirit Bear.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Shannon Paterson and Sean Michaels
