Two men survived a surprise encounter with a grizzly bear over the weekend while bow hunting for elk in southeastern Idaho. The adult male grizzly charged and mauled one of the hunters during the attack, which took place inside the Caribou Targhee National Forest on the morning of September 1. The other hunter escaped without injury.
According to a press release issued Monday, September 2 by the Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG), the men were hunting west of Henry’s Lake, near the community of Island Park, when the bear attacked. Grizzlies have attacked numerous people in and around the area in recent years.
“I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,” says Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron. “I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.”
Two short clips posted to Facebook claim to show the scene that unfolded in the moments immediately after the attack. In one, what appears to be a dead grizzly bear is visible before the camera pans over to a man lying on the ground holding his right arm—which is bound with a tourniquet. The other shows a man doubled over while talking into a cell phone with the dead bear only a few feet away.
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“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear,” the agency press release states, “deterring the attack and killing the bear.” First responders arrived on the scene shortly after the attack and transported the injured hunter to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
