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A hiker on a trip to Montana miraculously escaped a terrifying encounter with a grizzly bear that bit his arm and dragged him before finally running off.
Daniel Crago’s shared frightening details of his trip last week to Glacier National Park on May 28, when he was on a hike with his friend along the popular Grinnell Glacier trail.
The 32-year-old said he followed two hikers to the end of the trail to take some photos while his friend stayed back when he noticed a small grizzly bear.
“I immediately checked my surroundings and no more than 15 feet above me on the mountainside was a larger grizzly,” Crago wrote in a GoFundMe page launched to help with his recovery.
“I did as you’re told, I alerted the bear, but at that point I was so close it likely frightened the bear.”
“As soon as it saw me it charged down and attacked me. I threw my arm up, it bit my arm, dragged me about 20-30ft, and took off,” he added.
Pictures posted on the fundraising page show the stunning views he took in on the tip, along with photos of him with a huge cast on his right arm in a hospital bed and X-ray images of the damage inflicted by the bear.
A press release from the National Park Service said the hiker “sustained non-life-threatening injuries” during a “surprise encounter with a grizzly bear, which occurred in a snowfield.”
“During the encounter, the bear charged and fractured the man’s arm,” the release read.
“Nearby hikers responded quickly to assist, and the bear moved away from the area. The hikers provided medical aid to the injured man and contacted emergency services.”
Crago was then airlifted out of the area and taken to a local hospital.
Officials said Crago and the bear most likely didn’t detect each other due to the “sound of loud rushing water in the area.”
Crago wrote that a pediatric ER doctor who happened to be on the trail “stabilized my arm and stopped the bleeding,” while “another hiker made continuous sounds to keep the bears from returning.”
“I’ve had three surgeries now and will need at least one more.”
The attack comes after another during an outing in the same park on May 3 turned deadly for 33-year-old Anthony Polio, according to a park press release.
Search-and-rescue crews found Pollio’s body with serious injuries consistent with a bear attack.
Officials said the attack remains under investigation, but noted that “evidence suggests that this was a surprise encounter.”
The park service said the Grinnell Glacier Trail — a which features 10.6-mile round-trip trek — will remain closed until it’s deemed appropriate to reopen.
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