An Idaho hunter who was attacked and bitten by a grizzly bear last week recounted the terrifying encounter, saying, “It was like I was playing tug-of-war with the dog, but the dog was playing with my arm and ripping it apart.”
Riley Hill's comments come as doctors estimate he will need two months to recover from the attack on Sunday, Sept. 1, in Caribou-Targhee National Forest near Island Park. East Idaho News.
Hill and his friend, Braxton Myers, were hunting elk with bows and arrows when the bear attacked them. An investigation into the attack found that “the hunters unexpectedly encountered the bear at close range and acted in self-defense,” Idaho Fish and Wildlife officials said.
Hill told East Idaho News the incident started with a “loud bang” and then heard Myers yell, “Oh no, it's a bear!”
Idaho Grizzly Bear Attacks Hunter in 'Surprising Encounter'
A grizzly bear has been spotted in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Authorities say a hunter using a bow and arrow was attacked by the bear on Sunday, September 1, while pursuing an elk near the city of Island Park, Idaho, near Yellowstone. (Karen Breyer/AFP via Getty Images)
The 20-year-old man reportedly dropped his bow and used a handgun to fire four shots at the bear, but the bear sunk its teeth into the man's arm and began throwing him off.
Myers began firing at the bear with his own gun.
“I had to pick my shots. [carefully]”By that time, the bear was on top of Riley and his shoulders were [its] The paws and legs were just kicking out of his stomach… I couldn't see what Riley was doing, I just saw the bear on top of him.”
“When Braxton fired, he felt the bullet go through his arm and hit the bear,” Hill said.[It] It didn't hit me in the arm, but I felt the recoil of the bullet that hit the bear.”
A total of 24 shots were used to kill the bear, according to the East Idaho News website. Myers used first aid skills he learned in the Boy Scouts to apply a tourniquet to Hill's arm, and Hill was then transported by helicopter to a local medical facility, the website said.
Black bear attacks 3-year-old boy at campsite near Yellowstone National Park
Wildlife officials said the bear attack occurred in Caribou-Targhee National Forest, near the Idaho-Wyoming border. (Jordan Early/Fox News Digital)
The hunters later told East Idaho News that the bear was notorious among local ranchers for killing livestock and was nicknamed “King of the Hill.”
“These bears have been a constant problem for cattle there and a lot of farmers…” [are] “We're very happy because we got rid of the bear that was eating the cattle,” Hill said.
“It was a bear fight,” Myers added. “Another bear or some other animal had ripped off one of its ears, and it's ear was facing up the hill, so it didn't see us coming down the hill until it was on its good hearing side, and then it reared up and attacked us.”
The bear was reportedly startled because it had dug a hole in its bed for a nap.
Myers is currently planning his wedding to his fiancée on October 12th and has asked Hill to serve as his bridesmaid.
According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Wildlife, most grizzly bear attacks occur when the bear is inadvertently startled at close range. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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“A lot of people say they'd take a bullet for a friend, but I'd take a bear for a friend,” Hill told East Idaho News.
