Man punches black bear in nose after it followed 2-year-old into a Canadian home

A black bear got punched in the nose after it followed a two-year-old into a home in British Columbia, Canada.

Eleri Froude was at home on Saturday (19 August) with her two sons, Camden and Ivany, when she was first alerted to the presence of the bear when one of her sons yelled, "Mom, look!"

"I first laid eyes on the bear when it was actually in my house, almost in my living room, two feet behind my toddler. I thought: 'Oh my God, what am I going to do now?' That was when my friend turned around and said get the kids and get them in the bedroom," Froude told CTV news.

The woman then reportedly locked herself and her children in a bedroom while the friend banged pots and chased the bear with a chair, the BBC reported.

The Sunshine Coast Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a press release that the friend slammed the door on the bear before finally punching it in the nose, which made it retreat outside.

However, the beast continued to bang and paw at the door, and chew on the screen until police arrived.

Officials scared the animal into bushes nearby by throwing water bottles and blowing air horns. However, the roughly 99kg (220lb) adult male bear soon returned to the house, "tried to open the door to the garage and chased a male down the street". The man reportedly escaped by jumping into his vehicle.

After discussing with the conservation department, police decided to put down the bear because of its aggressive actions and lack of fear of humans. RCMP said it was the eighth bear it had killed on the Sunshine Coast this summer, after receiving reports of about 500 bear-human encounters.

British Columbia has a black bear population of between 120,000 and 150,000, one of the highest in the world.