Mom fights back in grizzly bear attack: ‘I’m not ready to leave my daughter’

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Vanessa Chaput, 24, of Yukon, Canada, told TODAY.com. Vanessa Chaput, 24, of Yukon, Canada, recovered in the hospital after a grizzly bear attack that required more than 30 stitches. Courtesy Dave Leegstra “I spotted the male that would attack me first … and two smaller bears about 10 feet away from me,” she said. “There was also a fourth, smaller bear right behind me, which I didn’t see.” Chaput backed away, tugging on Luna’s short leash, but her dog, whose bark often scares away bears that wander into Chaput’s Haines Junction yard, went on the defense. Luna ripped away from Chaput and chased the two smaller bears away, leaving Chaput alone with the male bear. “I picked a tree to get behind but the bear took me down … it took my head in its mouth and I ended up on the ground,” she said. “You feel like a rag doll and there’s nothing you can do,” she said, adding, “I remember being thrown around.” Chaput said she didn’t scream or feel a specific sensation of pain. “I have a pretty [high] pain tolerance.” The bear’s claws wrapped around Chaput’s body, piercing her skin near her spine and scratching her thighs. The mom said she thought: “I’m not ready to leave my daughter and my husband.” Chaput said she just “went into survival mode.” According to Chaput, the approximately five-minute attack ended when the bear suddenly let go of her head and ran away. “He charged across the path … and turned around and came back at me,” she said, adding, “I didn’t think I could handle another round.” Vanessa Chaput’s German shepherd, Luna, likely scared away a bear that attacked her. “Her barking saved my life,” said Chaput. She doesn’t know why the smaller bears didn’t attack Luna, but she suspects her mighty bark scared them away. Leegstra told their daughter, “Mommy had an ow-ie.” The Yukon Conservation Officer Services shared on its Facebook page: “Conservation officers responded to a report of a serious bear incident on the Trans Canada Trail connecting Pine Lake to Haines Junction around 10:30pm on Sunday, June 30.” Chaput’s dog had triggered “a defensive reaction” from the bear, read the Facebook post, adding, “The bear attacked the individual resulting in significant injuries requiring medical attention. In the interest of public safety, the nearby campground was evacuated and closed.” According to the post, “Three additional bears matching the description were located in the area and two were euthanized. Efforts are still being made to recover the fourth bear.” Officials are conducting necropsies on the bears, which have “a mixed composition of ages and sexes.” As the post stated: “DNA samples from the bears as well as forensic samples from the scene will be provided to a lab in Alberta to help identify the bear that attacked the person. The necropsy and tests will help confirm group dynamics between the bears and whether they are related, in breeding condition and other genetic factors.” The government of Yukon referred TODAY.com to a tip sheet on how to behave around bears, including when bears are aware — and unaware — of the presence of humans, stating, “Bear encounters rarely result in an attack. Remaining calm is the most important thing to do.” Chaput is not ready to hit the running trail again, but she recently revisited the scene of the attack with an armed conservation officer and her family — including Luna — to help sort her emotions about the attack. “I am very shocked at how lucky I am,” Chaput said. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mom-fights-back-grizzly-bear-attack-m-not-ready-leave-daughter-rcna166320