The bear had spotted the calf separated from the group of cows on a 2,200 acre ranch in British Columbia, Canada.
But it got more than it bargained for as the mother of the calf and two other cows charged the creature in a bloody battle lasting five minutes.
The enraged bovines took turns to stomp the bear with their heavy front feet, kick out with their back feet and crush it to the ground with their heads.
The hungry bear bit one cow on the leg and left another with cuts and grazes on its face.
But it was forced to give up under the assault and limped away with a bloodied face.
Photographer Wayne Ray captured the fight on his ranch near Fort Fraser.
The area has had little rain in the last five months, leaving the bear with a scarcity of food.
Mr Ray said: 'This small black bear was wandering around near a small group of cows and their calves in one of our pastures.
'The cows were keeping an eye on the bear but they did not seem overly concerned. It was pacing back and forth and wandering in circles like he was confused or could not make up his mind what to do.
'It had lots of opportunities to go back into the trees or to go across the field and away from the cows and avoid a confrontation.
'But he made the mistake of turning toward the large blonde cow's calf. She charged at the bear and knocked it flying. Two other cows joined in immediately.
'The noise was incredible with the thundering of hooves, the vocalising of the cows and calves and the squealing of the bear.'
He added: 'The bear was young and either incredibly stupid or incredibly hungry, as he was able to get away from the cows three times and then turned and went back for more.
'When the bear finally gave up, he was bleeding from his nose and mouth and had a bit of a limp. He was probably suffering from several broken ribs and maybe some internal injuries.
'We thought the bear might not be able to survive the beating he took from the cows but we have not seen any ravens, bald eagles or other scavengers in the area.'
