Todd Orr's Saturday morning was like something straight out of The Revenant. After walking away from two savage grizzly bear attacks, he then managed to document the aftermath via a smartphone video, photographs, and an unbelievably chirpy Facebook post.
The story starts last weekend when Orr was hiking by himself in Madison Valley, Montana. While walking down a trail, he stumbled upon a female grizzly with her cubs. The bear initially ran away, but then quickly turned and charged at him.
“I yelled a number of times so she knew I was human and would hopefully turn back. No such luck. Within a couple seconds, she was nearly on me. I gave her a full charge of bear spray at about 25 feet. Her momentum carried her right through the orange mist and on me,” Orr explained in the Facebook post.
The bear pushed Orr to the ground and began to bite the top of his arms, shoulders, and backpack, while he shielded his neck with his hands and forearm.
“The force of each bite was like a sledge hammer with teeth… Over and over,” he added.
After several minutes, the bear subdued and left him on the ground. Bloodied and confused, Orr picked himself up and headed back to his truck, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) away.
But just a few minutes later, the bear returned. While possibly a stroke of bad luck, Orr suspects the bear followed him back down the trail. Once again, the bear launched herself at him and the heavy scuffle continued. This time the injuries were even more severe, with one bite to the forearm breaking the bone and multiple bites and slashes to his head.
“I didn't move. I thought this was the end. She would eventually hit an artery in my neck and I would bleed out in the trail. But I knew that moving would trigger more bites so I laid motionless hoping it would end,” Orr said.
Eventually, the bear vanished once again. During the 45-minute journey back to his truck, Orr managed to capture photographs and a video of his injuries. Miraculously, he managed to get back to his vehicle and drive safely to the nearest hospital. Although caked in blood and covered in cuts, gashes, and bruising, Orr was remarkably fortunate to have survived, let alone walk away from, the attack.
Orr signed off his Facebook post by saying: “Not my best day, but I'm alive. So thankful I'm here to share with all of you :)
“In a couple weeks I will have to clean out the truck a little better. My girlfriend says it looks like I had gutted an elk in the drivers seat."
