An Alaska moose hunter has described his remarkable survival after a brown bear attack, saying he was “glad” he blacked out during the animal’s violent rampage.
Gavin Haakenson escaped the Sept. 2 encounter with a bruised shoulder and a torn coat, but suffered no broken bones.
Haakenson and fellow hunter Ethan Yeager were returning to their truck after an unsuccessful moose hunt near Soldotna when the bear suddenly ambushed him, he told Outdoor Life.
“I heard a noise to my right and looked over and there was a brown bear charging at me at full speed,” Haakenson told Outdoor Life.
“It was super close, maybe 10 feet, when I saw it. It was growling extremely loud, a terrifying noise.
“I saw its face. Its teeth were out. It hit me in the shoulder and knocked me down.”
Haakenson tried to reach his rifle and fire a shot in an effort to frighten off the bear.
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“That’s when my blackout started,” he said. “I’m glad I blacked out and I don’t remember the bear being on top of me.”
Yeager ultimately drove off the brown bear by firing two shots and yelling, “Hey bear.”
“The whole thing happened in 10 seconds,” Haakenson said.
Haakenson didn’t need any stitches but had a number of stitches, and has been told he will need six weeks of physical therapy.
The sleeve of his KUIU hiking jacket was shredded, but the brand told him it will supply him with new hiking gear.
US Fish and Wildlife officials combed the area after the pair reported the bear attack – but didn’t manage to find it.
Alaska is home to around 30,000 brown bears.