It seems like Todd Orr did all he should have to avoid a bear attack; it did not work.
This is why it is imperative if you head out into the wilderness, you be constantly on alert and even then, always have a contingency plan.
Todd Orr was out scouting elk in the Montana backcountry; he knew this was bear country, so he did everything by the book. Every 30 seconds or so he hollered “Hey bear” so as to not surprise any bears on the trail.
Three miles into his hike, Todd walked up on a Grizzly bear and her cubs. Seconds later he was being charged at full speed by an angry grizzly bear. Orr says he unleashed a full load of bear spray right at the grizzly at about 25 feet. It did nothing. The bear continued to charge right through the orange mist, slamming into Orr and sending him face first into the dirt.
For what Orr says was at least a couple of minutes, the bear continued to maul him, biting him again and again all over his body. He says each bite was like a sledgehammer, digging into his flesh.
The bear continued the attack, until it finally disappeared, leaving Orr bloody and bruised.
He picked himself up, made a quick assessment of his injuries and decided he had to make the three-mile hike back to his truck. Ten minutes into his trek to safety, Orr again came face to face with the grizzly. This time, the attack was even more brutal.
The bear slammed down on top of him, piercing his flesh with her teeth.
“One bite on my forearm went through to the bone and I heard a crunch.
The sound triggered a frenzy of bites to my shoulder and upper back. 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 … But I knew that moving would trigger more bites so a laid motionless hoping it would end.”
The bear stopped and stood there smashing Orr’s chest into the ground. He laid there silent, unable to see anything as the blood pooled inside his eyelids. And just like that, the bear again disappeared.
Drenched in blood, Orr again assessed his injuries. He realized he could make the 45-minute hike back to his truck without losing too much blood.
Once back at his truck, he stopped to take a couple of pictures of himself and a video describing the attack. He then calmly laid down some jackets on his truck’s seats, jumped in the truck, and headed towards the hospital.
Per his account, Todd Orr did everything correct – He was alert, armed and alerted any bears ahead of his path that he was in the vicinity – and he still was attacked – Twice!
It goes to show that you just never know, by hyper vigilance during certain parts of the year area critical to ensuring you do not end up like Todd – or worse!
For more information on avoiding and dealing with a bear attack, check out Off Grid Survival.