At the age of 73, Carl Moore probably knows it’s not the greatest idea to punch a bear. But when he saw one roam into his front yard last week in Placer County, Calif., and head toward his Chihuahua, Lacy, the senior citizen sprang into action.
“I raised both hands in the air and I cussed at him, ‘Rraarrrr! Get out of here, you bastard!'” Moore, a former U.S. Marine, told CBS Sacramento. “He looked at me like, ‘Go eff yourself.'”
So Moore walked up to the bear and slugged him in the face.
“Boom! I hit him hard,” he told CBS Sacramento. He said a witness told him he “damn corkscrewed his head.”
The startled bear took off, leaving Lacy unharmed.
“The man or beast I run from ain’t been born, and his mama’s already dead,” Moore said.
“I ain’t run from nothing. I never have in my whole life, and I ain’t going to start now. And you’re not going to sacrifice my babies for some damn bear.”
If there were such thing as a Wild Animal Fight Club for seniors, Moore might be joined by Steve Gustafson of Orlando, Fla. In 2012, the then 66-year-old grandfather punched a 7-foot-long alligator in the nose to get it to release his West Highland White Terrier, Bounce.
“It couldn’t feel any better,” Gustafson told WOFL. “It’s not like saving your child, but it’s pretty close. She’s my best friend.” Bounce needed a couple of stitches, but was otherwise okay.
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