“I was definitely very lucky”: Man uses his cellphone to scare off polar bear

CHURCHILL, Man. – A man who used his cellphone to scare off a polar bear says he’s lucky to be alive.

Garett Kolsum was attacked by a polar bear while walking home early Saturday morning in Churchill, Man., on Hudson Bay.

Kolsum says he saw a 180-kilogram bear out of the corner of his eye and the next thing he knew, the bear was on his heels.

He says the bear eventually pinned him against a bakery door but got startled when he pulled out his cellphone.

Kolsum says the bear bumped into a flower pot, giving him time to run away and get help.

He escaped with a few puncture wounds and is already back at work.

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