Man Survives Black Bear Attack By Using A Tool He Happened To Be Holding
If you want to survive a bear attack, the first step is to not get into a bear attack. You can avoid confrontations with hungry predators by following one key tip: Do not go into the woods at midnight looking for the bear. Unfortunately for three Minnesota guys, no person with common sense ever gave them that advice. They lived to tell the tale, so that we can marvel at their rationale on the Internet — er, be impressed at how they managed to escape.
In the fall of 2014, Brandon Johnson was 44 years old. You’d think he’d have aged out of crazy stunts by 44. Either he still was chasing that adrenaline rush, or maybe there just weren’t enough pool halls or sports events to occupy the gentlemen of Sand Stone, Minnesota.
CBS Minnesota
Johnson, accompanied by his friends Craig Lindstrom and Trevor Nowack, aged 54 and 24, respectively, had been out bow-hunting black bears on September 27th. Nowack had found one and shot it, but instead of firing a second arrow, he chose to let it wander and die on its own.
Kansas Tourism / Flickr
Now, it’s worth noting the three men — Johnson especially — had been hunting since they were young. With nearly four decades of experience, Johnson knew his way around the woods. He certainly wasn’t an idiot.
NPS Photo / Jake Bortscheller
However, there are always risks to high-stakes activities like bear hunting, and if one makes a habit of shooting wild animals, eventually you might have a close scrape with a very angry one. In Johnson’s case, it would soon come time to pay the piper.
Carl Johan Heickendorf
It had been 82ºF that day. The men were worried that the bear meat, which they would preserve, would spoil in the heat once it died, so they set out four hours later into the woods. They felt that the bear would have bled out by then.
Texas Monthly
Though they all carried headlamps, only one of the men had a firearm, and it wasn’t Johnson. Lindstrom’s Glock .45 would prove to be essential, but he’d be too far away from the bear to use it.
Fenix
Before long, they were able to find the trail of blood that the injured bear had left earlier in the day. In the dim lights, they tracked it through the trees and into a swampy area.
NY Post
The brackish, muddy water was coming up to their knees when the trees cleared out, and they found themselves at a river. With no way out but forward, they decided to cross.
Field and Stream
Nowack, the youngest, went first. He waded in, followed by Johnson, and the water came up to their armpits. When they reached the other side, Lindstrom was about 170 yards behind them, still in the swamp, when he heard them yelling.
United Artists
In the darkness, the two frontrunners thought they might have found the bear, and tried to warn Lindstrom that it might be headed his way. He swept his surroundings quickly with his light, but saw nothing. Little did they know the animal had changed its course.
Graham Samuels
Sensing trouble, Nowack handed his hunting knife to Johnson, who was about to go ahead of him on the trail. It was an $8 knife Nowack had picked up at a flea market, with just a five-inch blade, but it would be better than nothing.
The Truth About Knives
Just a minute later, Johnson heard a twig snap. He took three steps before the creature was on him, knocking him flat. The first thing he realized was that a second ago, he’d been looking at the ground; now he was staring at the stars.
United States Air Force Academy
He didn’t have long to admire the view. The bear’s massive teeth swung into view: its muzzle was going for his throat. Johnson swung both hands up to grab it and push it away, but a row of razor sharp teeth sank into his face.
Good Morning America
However, in his fall, Johnson hadn’t lost grip of Nowack’s knife. With his left arm, he tried to keep the bear’s jaws from ripping his skin off. With his right hand, he plunged the blade into whatever fur he could find.
20th Century Fox
Then, the bear lumbered off as swiftly as it had come. Though it was only a few minutes, Johnson lay silent and motionless for what seemed like forever, trying not to attract it again. Soon, a shadow broke the treeline. He thought it was Nowack.
Deniz Mengüllüoğlu
But he was wrong. It was the bear again, and the thing was running jaws-open straight for his crotch. Johnson locked his knees, and again used his left arm, now broken in three places, to block the attack while he stabbed with his right.
Medium
Johnson lost count of how many times he stabbed the bear. It climbed off him and came back once more before he was able to get the knife down its throat and deliver a fatal blow that would finally drive it off. By then, he was barely alive.
On Demand News
It had only been a few minutes, but the attack was savage. Lindstrom had just crossed the river, gun drawn, when the bear was gone. He and Nowack carried Johnson three hours back to their camp, where he got a medevac to the nearest hospital.
USA Today
Friends and family contributed to fundraisers to help cover the steep costs of Johnson’s medical bills. He required at least six surgeries to put him back together, and was lucky and grateful to be alive. “It’s amazing that I even had the knife,” he said.
Brandon Johnson
Nine months after the attack, Johnson hadn’t yet been able to get back to work, but was well enough to be on his feet, and was planning to return to hunting. “You have to face your demons,” he said.
Duluth News Tribune
The trio showed off their survival skills by — perhaps unwisely — fighting off a wild black bear. Deadly as that species may be, it is actually far from the most dangerous animals in the Americas, as another outdoorsmen might tell you.
Wikimedia Commons
No comments: