A trip to one of America’s National Parks is supposed to be a tranquil experience in nature.
For one park visitor, it became a nightmare he’ll never forget.
And a disabled Army Veteran went to hell and back to survive this terrifying situation at a National Park.
An Army Vet’s brush with death
Shayne Patrick Burk, a 35-year-old disabled Army Veteran, recently traveled to Grand Teton National Park in western Wyoming on vacation.
He and his wife were walking on a trail along Signal Mountain where they hoped to snap a picture of a Great Grey Owl.
“My wife and I had learned that this was a hot spot for the species, and I was hopeful I’d see one,” Patrick said.
Patrick went off on his own on the way back to the parking lot.
“I had a really uncomfortable feeling,” Patrick recounted. “I was breaking branches, singing, and talking to myself aloud. These are some things that can help prevent a ‘surprise encounter’ with a brown bear.”
He was walking in a heavily wooded area when he noticed a small, brown bear cub more than 50 yards ahead of him.
And that’s when he knew that he was in big trouble.
The sight of a bear cub means that a protective momma bear isn’t far behind.
“I unholstered my bear spray and saw the mother bear charging,” Patrick recalled. “I stood my ground, shouted and attempted to deploy the bear spray, but as I did, she already closed the gap.”
Bear goes in for the attack
Patrick braced himself for the momma bear to attack by protecting his vital organs.
“When she pounced I opted to turn and give her my back and I laid down in the prone position on my belly and braced for the ride, interlocking my hands behind my neck to protect my vitals,” Burke explained.
The bear slashed his shoulder with her claw and bit him.
“She then turned, stepping on my back. She bit one of my legs, picking me up and slamming me on the ground multiple times,” Patrick recalled. “She bit each leg from my buttocks to my inner knee about three times each.”
Patrick said he let out a scream, which drew the rampaging bear’s attention to his head.
“I believe she went in for a kill bite on my neck,” Patrick said. “I still had my hands interlocked and my arms protecting my carotid arteries.”
He clung on to his can of bear spray for dear life during the attack.
“As she bit my hands in the back of my neck, she simultaneously bit the bear spray can, and it exploded in her mouth,” Patrick stated.
The Army Veteran heard the mama bear and her family run away.
He texted his wife and began to tend to his wounds.
“I laid alone in the woods gripping my knife with my back to a tree just hoping the bear wasn’t to return,” Patrick recalled. “At this point, my legs were not really working.”
A rescue helicopter eventually found his location and evacuated him to a nearby hospital, where he’s expected to make a full recovery.
“It was the most violent thing I have ever experienced,” Burke said in a video posted to social media. “I’ve experienced being shot at, mortared, and IED explosions. I am a disabled Veteran in the Army Reserve.”
Running into a protective mother bear in a National Park is the worst-case scenario for any visitor.
