Bear drags Winnipeg man from camp outhouse

A Winnipeg man had quite a personal encounter with a black bear that dragged him out of an outhouse in northwestern Ontario over the weekend.

The 65-year-old man and his friend, a 63-year-old man also from Winnipeg, were fishing at Dunbar Lake north of Sioux Lookout, Ont., when the attack took place early Saturday morning, according to Ontario Provincial Police.

"The male was in the outhouse and was startled by this bear," Sgt. David Pinchin of the Sioux Lookout OPP told CBC News on Tuesday.

"The bear reached in and grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out and proceeded to bite him and slash at him."

Pinchin said the victim suffered a bite in the back of his head and several scratches on his head, neck and arms.

However, the bear did not fare so well in the encounter. Pinchin said the man's friend heard the commotion and came to the rescue by shooting and killing the bear.

"His fishing partner that was up there with him heard the screaming and the shouting … and he got his gun that he had with him and dispatched the bear," he said.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at hospital in Sioux Lookout and released.

Sioux Lookout is located about 430 kilometres east of Winnipeg.

Pinchin said there has been more bear activity than normal this spring in the Sioux Lookout area, possibly due to the early onset of spring.

Police are warning area residents to keep their garbage indoors. People spending time outdoors should keep a clear exit path open if they encounter a bear, they added.