A Bozeman, Montana man endured multiple attacks from the same sow grizzly bear over the weekend while scouting for elk near Ennis, Montana. Not only did Todd Orr live to tell the tale of what had to have been a horrifying ordeal, but he also posted the story to Facebook with a short video he filmed himself immediately after the mauling took place.
“Life sucks in bear country,” Orr says in the video while recounting the attack. “Just had a grizzly with two cubs come at me from about 80 yards away.”
According to Orr, he hit the grizz with a full charge of high powered bear spray, but it didn’t deter her from mauling his head, arms and shoulders as he attempted to feign death while simultaneously protecting the back of his neck with his hands.
“I went to my face in the dirt and wrapped my arms around the back of my neck for protection,” he later wrote in a Facebook post. “She was on top of me biting my arms, shoulders and backpack. The force of each bite was like a sledge hammer with teeth. She would stop for a few seconds and then bite again. Over and over. After a couple minutes, but what seemed an eternity, she disappeared.”
After the initial attack Orr was able to pull himself up and head for the safety of his vehicle, but before he could get there the sow returned and had another go at him. After braving the storm of another attack, he eventually got up and hiked 3 miles back to his truck before filming this short video and driving himself to the nearest hospital.
Todd says that the message here is that bear spray doesn’t always work, but it’s definitely better than nothing. Stay safe out there when recreating in bear country.
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