A woman in Washington state encountered a wild bear in a village located in the Cascade Mountains on Oct. 22 local time and punched the bear in the nose after being hit by it, eventually scaring it away, the New York Post and People reported.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said an adult female black bear in the village of Leavenworth attacked a woman from behind at about 7 a.m. that morning.

At the time, the bear charged the woman from behind knocking her to the ground, but fortunately, the woman was not fatally injured.

Wildlife biologist Ritchie Beausoleil said the woman's fighting instincts saved her. Rich told the media, "The bear's sudden appearance scared the woman, and she didn't have a chance to make a scare block, clap, yell and wave her arms to scare the bear off, she had to throw a punch to protect herself."

Ritchie said, "The bear had run the woman into the ground, so she instinctively extended her fist and punched the bear hard in the nose."

Wildlife officials later found the bear near the site of the attack and killed it.

Mike Jewell, head of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement that officers had no choice but to kill the aggressive animal. Mike said, "Public safety is our top priority."

How to escape a fierce animal encounter in the wild

Never turn and run when you encounter a bear. Bears look lumbering and slow, and can run at speeds of up to 30 km/h on rough mountain roads. You should quickly assess your surroundings, determine your escape route in the downwind direction, and then walk away towards it, slowly, backing up. A person's backing up will calm the bear down.

If the bear has made a move to launch an attack, it must also be dealt with depending on the situation. If you encounter a large adult brown bear, find a large tree and climb it quickly. If it is a smaller bear, the tree is a dead end because the bear will climb it more than you.

If you can't get away and can't hide, then learn from "The Wilderness Hunter" and give it a shot, protect your throat and neck, attack its nose because its nose is very sensitive, and let the bear know you're good so it can back off.

Also, if you see a bear cub in the wild, don't go up and play with it, because the mother bear must be not far away and will attack you to protect her cubs.