As a roaring grizzly bear charged toward him, American hiker Daniel Crago, 32, had just enough time to raise his arm and think, “This is it.” Three operations later he tells his story. “I was very lucky.”
Source: The Guardian
Daniel Crago went on holiday to Glacier National Park in the US state of Montana two weeks ago with a friend. The trip was all about hiking and beautiful nature, but during a final walk on the Grinnell Glacier Trail he suddenly came face to face with a bear.
“He rushed at me”
“We were about 100 yards from the end of the trail, where there was a snowfield,” Crago said in an interview with ABC News. “My friend stayed behind and I followed two other hikers to the end, where I took some pictures of the view. Halfway up the snowy path I suddenly saw a small grizzly bear that had passed me by. I immediately looked around and on the mountainside, no more than 4.5 meters above me, was suddenly a large grizzly.”
Crago describes himself as an experienced walker and immediately followed the correct procedures: making as much noise as possible to alert the animal to its presence and not to scare it away. But according to the National Park Service (NPS), they were just in an area “where the sound of rushing water made it difficult for both the man and the bear to detect each other.” In all his haste, he also didn’t have time to use his bear spray.
“As soon as it saw me, it charged and attacked me. I threw my arm up in self-defense, but the bear bit my right arm and dragged me about 20 to 30 feet.” Finally the bear ran away again. Crago’s friend and several other hikers in the area immediately came to his aid, including a doctor. He placed a tourniquet around his arm to limit blood loss. He was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Hotspot for bears
Glacier National Park extends over 2,550 kilometers in the Rocky Mountains. The nature reserve is home to nearly 1,000 black bears and grizzly bears, according to the NPS. Although bear attacks are generally rare – the chance is about one in 2.1 million – Glacier is considered a hotspot for bear encounters.
Crago will probably need a skin transplant soon after already undergoing three operations. To pay for medical expenses, he is a online crowdfunding started for 60,000 dollars (52,000 euros), which has already raised 43,000 dollars (37,000 euros). Crago realizes that he has been extremely lucky and is “extremely grateful that he can wake up every day and make the most of it. Whatever else happens in my life, I am alive,” he said with relief.