A hiker who took all the recommended precautions was attacked by a brown bear and believed he was going to die, saying on Facebook that “My last thought was that at least I was being killed by a pretty bear.”
Gregory Godar, 73, of West Yellowstone was hiking with his wife, Sherry Groves, on the Outlet Overlook Trail at Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho late Friday afternoon when the encounter with the 500-pound grizzly occurred, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and East Idaho News.
“We were doing everything right,” Godar said on Facebook. “Bear bells, bear spray on my chest strap of my pack, first aid kit, poles, talking loudly, etc. Suddenly, I heard noise on the right side of the trail and saw two cubs cross the trail behind me; probably year-olds.
“Mama bear is staring at me from 20-feet away in the aspens and brush. She charges straight at me. Pauses for a split second, deciding how to attack. I tried to get my spray out and toreador around her, but she whacked me on the back sending me down hard. I had yelled to Sherry to look out. The bear jumped on my back and bit my belly. I lay still, expecting her to chomp on my neck and kill me. I was pretty sure I was going to die. My last thought was that at least I was being killed by a pretty bear.
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“She was clean and beautiful, as were her big babies. She got off of me and went back up the trail and a hill, where she sat with the cubs and watched us.”
Sherry threw a water bottle at the bear and tried to spray it but was too far away. Godar managed to get to his feet and grabbed his bear spray. Together they backed away and hiked to the trailhead to seek help, afraid the entire way back.
“We pretty much assumed she would attack again, and we had to walk a mile and a half back to the park entrance station expecting she’d charge at us,” Godar told East Idaho News. “On the way down, we warned a lady walking her dog that there was a grizzly up there, and she didn’t believe us but then turned around and left.”
Godar was bleeding heavily from the stomach wounds (shown on the East Idaho News post) but said he was “oddly happy—glad to be alive.”
Park officials were alerted and medical personnel arrived soon after, attending to his wounds around 5:30 p.m. and insisting he be flown by helicopter to a hospital in Idaho Falls. His wife met up with him by 11 p.m., about the time he was ready to be released.
“If I had one word of advice, it would be to carry your bear spray in your hand and not strapped to your chest,” Godar told the IDFG. “I think if I had it in my hand I could have stopped her.”
He also suggested wearing a “loud cowbell in front of you and not in the back,” as he does in the photo above.
Because the bear attacked after being surprised, wildlife officials determined it was unnecessary to trap or pursue the bears but recommended to park officials to keep the trails closed for about a week.
Photos courtesy of Gregory Godar and Wikipedia Commons.