Shane Patrick Burke was on a short hike this month deep in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park to photograph owls when he spotted a grizzly bear cub about 50 to 70 yards in front of him.
Burke quickly realized the cub's presence was a sign of trouble, she wrote on Instagram.
Shortly after, Burke, 35, was attacked by the mother bear cub.
He said he followed advice he had read about grizzly bear attacks by turning away, lying face down and clasping his hands behind his neck.
During the May 19 attack, the bear bit Burke multiple times and then lifted him up and slammed him to the ground, but one of his screams “unfortunately but fortunately drew her attention to my head,” Burke wrote.
It was a terrifying moment, but ultimately saved his life.
The bear bit Mr Burke's neck, but his hands and arms were still entangled behind his neck and, more importantly, he was grabbing a can of bear spray when he saw the cub.
“I never let go of the can of bear spray,” he wrote. “She bit the hand behind my neck and at the same time bit the can of bear spray, causing it to explode in her mouth.”
The explosion frightened the bear and made it run away.
Burke, a disabled veteran in the Army Reserves, said the attack was “the most violent I've ever experienced,” adding that he'd “also experienced gunfire, mortar fire and IED explosions.”
Grand Teton National Park said Burke, who was visiting from Massachusetts, was released from hospital on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The park said the attack appeared to be a defensive action by the bear in response to a “sudden encounter.” The bear has not been identified, and Grand Teton said no further “management measures,” including euthanizing the bear, were necessary.
Burke posted on Instagram that he begged park rangers not to kill the bear because he understood it was trying to protect its cubs.
He said the attack was “the wrong place, wrong time” – he had planned an hour-long walk to try to spot the owl so he could photograph it.
He said the attack happened about 90 minutes after he left the parking lot, and that he was trying to get back as quickly as possible because he expected his wife to be home early.
He said he felt an “unpleasant sensation” as he made his way through a heavily forested valley, so he followed safety guidelines for the situation and made some noise.
“He was breaking branches, singing and talking loudly to himself,” he said.
Burke saw the cub and pulled out his bear spray, but the mother bear was already charging toward him. Burke said he heard the bear bite the can of spray and then run away.
After Burke got away from the bear, he called his wife, who showed him how to make a tourniquet for his leg using some of the equipment they had, including a backpack and a strap from his camera bag.
He found that he had avoided the most dangerous and urgent type of bleeding: a ruptured artery.
“I lay alone in the woods, with my back to a tree, clutching my knife, and just prayed that the bear wouldn't return,” Burke wrote.
He was also able to call 911 and triangulate his location for a helicopter rescue.
Burke said he thought he was going to die and recorded a video telling those close to him that he loved them.
Park rangers who arrived first gave Burke emergency medical treatment before he was transported by helicopter to an ambulance, where he underwent surgery to clean and staple his wounds, Burke said.
He said he was ill-prepared for a medical emergency because he had intended to take a short walk in roadside woods – he normally carries a first aid kit.
Burke said the biggest factor in his survival was that he had read about what to do in a bear attack and had bear spray with him, which he knew how to use.
If you are attacked by a grizzly bear, it is recommended that you do as Burke did and play dead with your hands behind your neck. If you are attacked by a black bear, do not play dead.