A 35-year-old military veteran, Shayne Patrick Burke, said that when he was attacked by a grizzly bear last week, it felt worse than being shot or experiencing a bomb explosion.
Burke, who lives in South Hadley, Massachusetts, was visiting the Grand Teton National Park in the Yellowstone area of Wyoming on May 19 when he was suddenly attacked and severely bitten by a grizzly bear.
Speaking to local media, Burke, a retired Army soldier, mentioned that he had been shot and experienced explosions before, but this attack was far more terrifying and brought him close to death.
Lying on a hospital bed, Burke took to social media to write, “What happened on Signal Mountain was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was attacked by a grizzly bear mother protecting her cubs. It was the most violent thing I have ever experienced.”
Park officials confirmed the attack but stated they would not capture or kill the grizzly bear responsible.
Recalling the morning of May 19, Burke shared that he was photographing owls in a dense forest when he noticed a bear cub running nearby. Being alert, he attempted to grab bear spray but before he could prepare, the mother bear pounced.
“As it lunged at me, I turned my back to it, fell to the ground, preparing to be attacked, and used my hands to protect my arteries on the back of my neck,” Burke said.
The grizzly bear quickly attacked him, tearing at his back and shoulders before standing on him and biting his legs. Burke screamed in agony, but his cries caught the bear’s attention towards his head. With bear spray can in one hand and protecting his neck with the other, the grizzly bear tried to bite his head and neck, but mistakenly chomped on the spray can, causing it to burst in its mouth and scare the bear away.
Subsequently, Burke attempted to call his wife who was waiting for him in the parking lot. The first call didn’t connect, but his wife called back promptly. While talking to his wife, he used strips of fabric from his backpack and camera strap to bandage his leg wounds. Unable to move his legs while waiting for rescue, he leaned against a tree with a pocket knife in hand, fearing the bear might return, all the while recording farewell messages for loved ones.
Rescue personnel quickly arrived by helicopter with Burke’s clothes soaked in blood. He was airlifted to a hospital in Jackson, Wyoming for wound cleaning and surgery.
“The key factor that allowed me to survive was reading and understanding how to handle a bear attack and being prepared with bear spray,” Burke wrote on social media.
After escaping the danger, Burke requested the park authorities not to kill the grizzly bear as it was simply protecting its cubs.
Following standard procedure for bear attacks, the Grand Teton National Park temporarily closed hiking areas in the region located in the Yellowstone area. Officials estimate there are approximately 1000 grizzly bears in the vicinity.