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Todd Orr was on a hunting trip in rural Montana, an area known for wild bears. An an experienced outdoorsman, Todd was confident he could keep himself safe while looking for elk.
‘Knowing that bears are common throughout southwest Montana, I hollered out “hey bear” about every 30 seconds so as to not surprise any bears along the trail.’ he wrote in a post on Facebook recounting the ordeal.
Soon he found himself in a meadow, not far from a mother Grizzly bear and her cubs. Before he could make a move, the mother bear charged. Todd had come prepared with bear repellant – but the extra-strong capsicum spray did no good as the bear leapt through the orange mist and attacked.
‘I went to my face in the dirt and wrapped my arms around the back of my neck for protection. She was on top of me biting my arms, shoulders and backpack. The force of each bite was like a sledge hammer with teeth, ‘ described Todd.
As sudden as the attack happened, it ended. With the mother bear retreating, Todd slowly raised himself from the dust to inspect the damage.
‘I had numerous bleeding puncture wounds on my arms and shoulder but I knew I would survive and thanked god for getting me through this…I really didn’t want to stop to dress the wounds. I wanted to keep moving and put distance between us.’
The force of each bite was like a sledge hammer with teeth.
Bloodied and moving slowly, Todd knew he has to get help soon. But not even 10 minutes later he heard a sound that sent his blood running cold – it was the Grizzly bear, back again!
‘She either followed me back down the trail or cut through the trees and randomly came out on the trail right behind me. Whatever the case, she was instantly on me again. I couldn’t believe this was happening a second time! Why me?’
Huddled on the ground, Todd curled his arms around his head to protect his neck and face while the bear attacked his shoulders and arms.
‘I knew I couldn’t move or make a sound again so I huddled motionless. Another couple bites to my head and a gash opened above my ear, nearly scalping me,’ he says. Terrified she might bite an artery, Todd lay as still as he could to not enrage the bear further.
Just as suddenly – the bear was gone.’
‘I tried to peek out without moving but my eyes were full of blood and I couldn’t see… I wiped the blood from one eye and looked around. No bear.’
The bear had attacked Todd’s backpack – destroying the straps and leaving his supplies strewn across the trail.
‘Now trashed, that backpack may have helped prevent many more serious bites on my back and spine. I picked everything up and moved down the trail again. I couldn’t believe I had survived two attacks. Double lucky!’
Eventually Todd made it to his truck. Spreading his jackets on the seat, he buckled in before driving to town. Convinced once arm was broken, and scared to look at the gashes under his hat, Todd was just grateful he escaped with his life.
‘When I got into cell service, I made a quick call to my girlfriend to ask how her morning was going, before freaking her out and asking her to bring me a change of clean clothes to the hospital.
‘Once inside, the x-rays revealed only a chip out of the ulna bone in my forearm. Following was eight hours of stitching to put me back together.’
‘Not my best day, but I’m alive,’ he says.
‘So thankful I’m here to share with all of you.’
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