The driver slams to a halt – but the larger animal, believed to be the mother bear, suddenly turns and charges – with the whole moment captured on camera.
This is the terrifying moment a huge bear charges a woman’s car and BITES into the bonnet after appearing in the road with its cub. The heart-stopping dashcam footage shows two bears suddenly emerge from the darkness and cross directly in front of the vehicle.
The driver slams to a halt – but the larger animal, believed to be the mother, suddenly turns and charges – with the whole moment captured on camera. It launches itself at the front of the car before repeatedly battering the bonnet with its powerful paws.
The bear briefly backs away before attacking AGAIN – this time appearing to bite into the vehicle. Terrified inside, the woman desperately locked her doors and waited for the animal to leave.
She said: “I stopped because I thought I was going to hit them, and then it attacked. I locked the doors and prayed it wouldn’t get inside and waited for it to go away.”
The woman said she could feel the car shaking and hear the animal growling outside.
She added: “I was scared. I never thought it would come towards me, so I was really surprised. It would have been terrifying if it had broken the glass.”
The extraordinary encounter happened at around 7.30pm on Tuesday (29 Sep) as the woman, aged in her 30s, was driving home from work.
She was travelling along Route 49 through the mountainous Niupu area of Bifuka, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Police said the two animals appeared to be a parent and cub. The larger bear was estimated to be around 1.5m long, while local reports put the cub at approximately one metre. The woman had stopped after spotting the pair emerge from woodland and run across the road.
But instead of continuing into the forest, the suspected mother turned towards her.
Footage released by police shows the animal rising up in front of the vehicle before repeatedly attacking it.
The force of the assault left the bonnet dented and covered in deep claw marks.
Some of the bear’s claws even punched holes straight through the metal.
Despite the damage, the car remained driveable and the woman escaped without injury before making her way to a police station.
The two bears eventually disappeared back towards the forest. Police have stepped up patrols around the area following the frightening encounter.
Authorities said the road is in a mountainous area around 10km from central Bifuka where bear sightings are frequently reported.
The latest local figures show police have received 55 reports relating to brown bears across Hokkaido in the space of just one week.
Drivers have been urged to remain vigilant, particularly when travelling through rural areas at night.