A grizzly bear attacked two hikers in Yellowstone National Park, but the men escaped serious injury, the National Park Service said Thursday.
Pat McDonald, 52, of Bismarck, N.D., and Gerald Holzer, 51, of Northfield, Minn., were hiking on a trail near Shoshone Lake in the park's southern section Wednesday when they noticed fresh bear scat, officials said in a written statement.
They decided to continue, but were charged by a grizzly bear "at full stride" about a quarter-mile further along the trail, the release said.
Holzer, who was in front, sidestepped the bear. McDonald stepped behind some trees and dropped to the ground, officials said. The bear ran past him, but returned and swatted at him, then turned to Holzer, who had dropped to the ground and was lying on his stomach.
The bear jumped on Holzer's back, swatted at him, then retreated briefly. During that time, McDonald retrieved the bear spray strapped to his waist and doused the bear in the face when it returned and starting biting his leg. The bear then ran off, officials said.
The two men hiked 4 miles to the trailhead and drove to the clinic at Old Faithful for treatment.
McDonald suffered a puncture wound to his leg. Holzer was not injured, and officials said his backpack protected him during the attack.
How many news stories do you see that get to use the phrase “fresh bear scat”? And yes, I do shudder to think what sort of people those words might bring to the blog.
“Let’s see what I get if I google fresh+bear+scat. Corn O’What?”
And doesn’t that fight with the bear sound like something from a Python skit?
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