A disabled combat veteran who served in the US Army faced a battle every bit as dangerous as anything he faced in theater when, on May 26, he encountered a grizzly bear in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. What ensued was a bloody survival battle that, thankfully, left the thirty five year-old warrior alive, if not unscathed.
Shayne Patrick Burke was on a hike up the trail on Signal mountain with his camera, on the hunt for a Great Grey Owl, before the bear attacked, according to a report in the New York Post.
Burke posted to his Instagram, saying that in his life he’s been bombed by mortars, caught in IED explosions, and been on the wrong end of gunfire, but all of that paled in comparison to his run-in with the grizzly bear. It was, he said the most violent experience of his life.
On the X platform, the New York Post posted an image of the veteran’s bloodied condition after the attack.
Burke had been in the park with his wife, but he decided to go off into the wilderness alone in search of an owl to photograph. He told his wife that he’d meet her back at the parking lot after an hour or so. When he was on his return trip to make the rendezvous, he did as he’d learned and made as much noise as possible so that he would avoid an accidental bear encounter.
However, Burke spotted a brown bear cub running up a nearby hill, and he realized that the mother must be close by. When she appeared and laid eyes on Burke, she charged him.
Burke says that he unholstered his bear spray when the mother appeared. He stood his ground, shouted, and attempted to fire his bear spray, but before he could fire she was on top of him. He suffered bites and slashes, was picked up and body slammed, but was saved when the bear bit into his bear spray.
