A disabled U.S. Army veteran recounted his bloody fight for survival after being attacked by a grizzly bear in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park on Sunday.
Shane Patrick Burke, 35, had been hiking Signal Mountain to photograph a great spotted owl when he was attacked by a bear as he and his wife were leaving. New York Post report Saturday.
“I’ve experienced gunfire, mortar fire and IED explosions,” Burke said in an Instagram post, but his encounter with the grizzly bear was “the most violent thing I’ve ever experienced.”
image show Veterans immediately after the attack:
Military veteran survives terrifying attack by mother grizzly bear while hiking in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park: ‘She delivered a fatal bite to my neck’ https://t.co/1VfKBzQGZY pic.twitter.com/3anALHsi8z
— New York Post (@nypost) May 25, 2024
Before heading out into the wilderness alone, Burke told his wife he’d meet her at the parking lot in an hour. On the way back to her, Burke took precautions, such as making noise, to avoid encountering any bears.
A hike to Taggart Lake offers spectacular views of the Teton Range in Grand Teton National Park.
(National Park Service photo/J. Bonney for the National Park Service)
But when he saw a brown bear cub running up a nearby hill, he realized it probably wouldn’t be long before the mother showed up.
Apparently that was the case, for upon seeing Burke she lunged at him.
“I got out my bear spray and saw the mother bear charging at me. I stayed where I was, yelled and tried to spray her with bear spray, but by that time the mother bear had already closed the distance,” he said. SaidAccording to Fox News.
As the bear closed in on him, Burke turned his back to her and lay face-down on the ground with his arms clasped over his neck to protect his carotid artery.
As he lay there, the bear bit him, slashed him in the shoulder, stomped on his back, bit his legs, then picked him up and slammed him to the ground multiple times.
Burke said he thought she was trying to “finish off” by taking a bite of his neck when he screamed, but the veteran’s hands were still clasped together and he managed to hold onto the can of bear spray.
When the bear’s mouth got into the can, it exploded and the bear launched itself at the cub. Burke texted his wife, applied a makeshift tourniquet to his leg, and called 911. Helicopter crews had trouble finding him, so while they waited, Burke prepared for the worst and recorded a video of himself sending messages of love to those close to him.
However, rescuers eventually found him and he underwent surgery at a local hospital, where he is now recovering.
According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, black bears and grizzly bears are different. FeaturesThe agency urged visitors to be aware of the differences.
Grizzly bears have prominent shoulder hump, short, rounded ears, a concave facial profile, and long, straight claws that are 3 to 4 inches long.
In contrast, black bears lack shoulder hump, have high, pointed ears, a straight facial profile, and short, curved claws that are only 1 to 2 inches long.
After the attack, which authorities later confirmed, Burke urged park rangers not to kill the bear because he knew it was only protecting its cubs. Park rangers said they would not kill the bear, Fox reported.
“What happened at Signal Mountain was a wrong place, wrong time event,” Burke said.
Breitbart News reported that a woman was found dead after an apparent encounter with a grizzly bear near Yellowstone National Park in Montana in July.
