Heroic Husband Fends Off Polar Bear to Save Wife in Canada

A man in Fort Severn First Nation, Ontario, was seriously injured after leaping onto a polar bear to protect his wife during a rare attack. The bear, which lunged at the couple early in the morning, was fatally shot by a neighbor. Polar bear attacks are uncommon, with a study documenting 73 incidents over a century, often involving nutritionally stressed adult males. The retreat of sea ice may increase such encounters. Canada is home to about two-thirds of the world's polar bear population, listed as threatened by the U.S.