Garbage-stealing bear turns tables on man trying to scare it away in California

GLENDALE, Calif., Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A man trying to scare off a garbage-picking bear in southern California ended up being the one to run when his air horn malfunctioned and the predator charged.

Frank Ramos said he decided to try to frighten the bruin with an air horn when he spotted it feeding from trash placed at the curb for pickup in his Glendale neighborhood recently.

Ramos was filming the encounter when his air horn malfunctioned and succeeded only in getting the bear's attention instead of scaring it away.

The man ended up running into his home when the bear charged at him.

"I really wasn't frightened, but it was like 'Whoa!' To me it was like a mock charge, probably to scare me off or whatever, I don't know if I would have continued if I stayed here but I didn't wait," Ramos told ABC News.

Ramos might have had more success scaring the bear if he had tried using bottle rockets.