A male Himalayan black bear rests inside its open enclosure at the Padamaja Naidu Himalayan zoological park in Darjeeling, about 80 km (50 miles) from the northeastern Indian city of Siliguri October 17, 2006. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA)
A woman from Montana has fought off a 200-pound, trespassing black bear with a zucchini from her garden.
The bear, who had been spotted just 25 yards away eating apples from a tree, attacked the woman’s collie on the back porch of her home late on Wednesday night, the BBC reports.
In a brave attempt to save her dog, the woman tried to intercede the brawl, kicking the bear with her left leg “as hard as she could,” say authorities.
Subsequently the bear turned on the woman, swiping at her leg and ripping her jeans.
The woman retreated back towards her home, chased by the bear, who then stuck his big head through the doorway. The quick thinking woman then grabbed the closest object she could find – a zucchini from her garden – and pelted it at the hairy intruder. The blast from the vegetable attack proved too much for the bear as he turned on his heels and fled back into the wilderness.
Authorities confirmed that the woman, who lives 15 miles from the town of Missoula, and her dog had not sought medical attention.
The vegetable patch bear is still at large.