Grizzly attacks now more fequent

A Bozeman man who survived two attacks by a grizzly bear apparently protecting her cubs on Saturday has captured the attention of social media, hunters and wildlife managers alike, especially for calmly recording a bloody video before seeking medical help.

Todd Orr , 50, who’d been scouting for elk in the Madison Range, described the attacks in excruciating detail on his Facebook page. He also attached a short selfie video he recorded after hiking 3 miles back to his vehicle and being mauled by the sow a second time.

“Yeah, life sucks in bear country,” Orr said.

Madison County Sheriff Roger Thompson equated the ordeal to getting struck by lightning twice in a day.

In less than 24 hours online, Orr’s graphic video had racked up 27 million Facebook views – far more than the 9 million views of the Saturday Night Live comedy skit on the Clinton-Trump presidential debate.

“He survived, and that’s amazing,” said Ron Aasheim, Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department spokesman in Helena. “Anyone else would have been in shock, but he makes a call to his girlfriend and does a video.

When he’s had time to recover, we’ll want to talk to him to see what went wrong and right.”

The incident is the second grizzly attack on elk hunters in the Madison Range near Ennis this season and the fourth encounter this fall in southeastern Montana/ Rich Landers , SR. More here.

Question: Would you rather have a handgun or pepper spray in bear country?