Joe Pendry used his experience as a boxer to fight for his life when a mother grizzly attacked and severely injured him in B.C.'s East Kootenay region earlier this month.

The 63-year-old was out hunting elk near Fort Steele, just northeast of Cranbrook, on Oct. 2 when he encountered the bear and two cubs.

His wife, Janice Pendry, said her husband shot the charging bear in the leg but it kept coming.

She said he punched and even bit the animal's ear as he fought for his life, suffering gruesome injuries that include his lips and part of his scalp being torn off, losing a finger and suffering numerous broken bones.

Pendry said her husband repeatedly punched the bear in the nose, drawing on his boxing skills, but the animal intensified its assault.

Elk hunter who was mauled by grizzly be

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