A teenage girl bravely fought off a large female black bear after seeing the animal attack her dogs as it walked along a wall in the backyard of a California home with two small cubs.
The girl was not seriously injured in the frightening confrontation in San Gabriel Valley, which was captured on the home’s security camera and later distributed by NBC 4 in Los Angeles.
The 34-second video shows the bear and her cubs emerge from behind a tree and then proceed to walk along the ledge of a 3-foot cinder block wall. After the bear reaches an open area of the wall, the family’s four barking dogs charge in full speed, startling the animal.
A chaotic standoff between the animals ensues.
Sensing danger, the two cubs immediately retreat back into the tree while the mother bear, still positioned on the wall, swipes about four times at the growling dogs below.
The bear’s claws can be heard raking the wall as it missed the mark on the dogs each time.
The girl, Hailey Morinico — wearing a knee-length dress and sandals — is next shown fearlessly rushing in and coming face to face with the bear. During the scramble, she shoves the bear off the other side of the wall, falling to her knees in the process. In a split second, she manages to pick up one of the smaller pets and runs back inside the house to safety.
The bear is next seen briefly peeking back over the wall and climbing back to the ledge before running away in the opposite direction.
The girl later told news stations that she sprained her finger and knee during the daring moment, but other than that she was OK.
Experts advise people not to confront bears.
Female black bears can grow up to about 200 pounds and males can reach 350 pounds, according to reports.
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