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Massachusetts man survived grizzly bear attack and reveals what saved his life – Boston 25 News

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A Massachusetts man who was hospitalized with serious injuries after being attacked by a grizzly bear while hiking in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park is speaking out about the violent confrontation.

The 35-year-old Army veteran from South Hadley, identified by the Jackson Hole News & Guide as Shayne Patrick Burke, said he has been shot at, mortared and experienced explosions from improvised explosive devices, but what he experienced last weekend was far worse.

“What happened on Signal Mountain was a case of wrong time, wrong place,” Burke wrote in an Instagram post from his hospital bed. “I was attacked by a mother grizzly bear protecting her cub. It was the most brutal thing I have ever experienced.”

Burke was bloodied and beaten when found by Grand Teton National Park rangers and Teton County search and rescue teams, and suffered stab wounds to his hands, legs and upper back.

Shayne Patrick Burke

“When she struck, I turned around and turned my back to her. I laid on my stomach and braced myself for the ride. I clasped my hands behind my neck to protect my vital organs. The first bite and cut hit me on my back/right shoulder,” Burke explained in the post. “I screamed. Then she turned around and kicked me on my back. She bit one of my legs, picked me up and threw me to the ground several times. She bit each leg, from my buttocks to the inside of my knee, about three times each.”

As he continued to scream, Burke said the bear turned its attention to his head and “fatally bit him” in the neck. Luckily, he was holding a can of bear repellent spray behind his head.

“I still had my hands clasped and my arms protecting my carotid arteries. I never let go of the bear spray can,” Burke wrote. “As she bit my hands on the back of my neck, she simultaneously bit the bear spray can and it exploded in her mouth. That saved my life during the first attack. I heard her run away.”

Burke said he applied improvised tourniquets before emergency responders found him and took him to the hospital.

Burke also mentioned that he asked wildlife authorities not to capture or kill the bear because it was defending its cub.

Bear attacks are rare in Teton County, News & Guide reported

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