Shayne Patrick Burke was looking for owls in the wilds of Wyoming, but he found grizzlies instead.
Just moments after Burke noticed a bear cub within 50 to 70 yards, he saw a mother grizzly bear charging toward him.
“I stood my ground, shouted and attempted to deploy the bear spray but as I did she already closed the gap,” he wrote in a Facebook post about the May 19 incident in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. CNN has tried to reach Burke – whose location is listed as South Hadley, Massachusetts, on social media – but has not received a response.
The encounter, which matched details given by the National Park Service about an attack on an unnamed man near Signal Mountain, could easily have ended tragically with a human death, an animal death — or both.
Burke had been hoping to photograph a Great Grey Owl and was hustling back through the wilderness to meet his wife.
With just seconds to react, Burke turned his back as the bear pounced, laid down on his stomach “and braced for the ride” with his hands interlocked behind his neck for protection, the post said.
“The first bite and slash was on my back / right shoulder. I screamed. She then turned, stepping on my back. She bit one of my legs, picking me up and slamming me on the ground multiple times,” the post said.
The bear bit each leg about three times, he said. He screamed again with the final bite, which brought the bear’s attention to his head.
“I believe she went in for a kill bite on my neck. I still had my hands interlocked and my arms protecting my carotid arteries. I never let go of the bear spray can,” Burke wrote in the post.
“As she bit my hands in the back of my neck, she simultaneously bit the bear spray can and it exploded in her mouth,” he wrote. That’s what saved him from the initial attack, he said.
“It was the most violent thing I have ever experienced,” he said in his social media post. “I’ve experienced being shot at, mortared and IED explosions. I am a disabled Veteran in the Army reserve.”
‘I very well could die’
The National Park Service did not name Burke but confirmed that a 35-year-old man from Massachusetts was attacked on May 19 “as he was hiking through a forested area with diminished visibility.” NPS noted that “the visitor was carrying bear spray and intentionally making noise based on posted bear safety information from the National Park Service.”
The NPS account mirrors Burke’s post: “Just as the larger bear made contact with him, he intentionally fell to the ground on his stomach to attempt to play dead. He interlaced his fingers behind his neck with the bear spray canister caught in one of his fingers,” NPS said via email.
The cannister bursting caused the bears to leave the scene, NPS said.
According to NPS and Burke’s post, he quickly moved to an area with some cellular coverage. A call to his wife failed, so he texted “attacked.”
When she called back, he told her about the encounter as he administered first aid on himself.
Photos included with Burke’s post on social media show deep gashes in his hand and back.
He noted in his account that he had received advanced first aid training in the army, and his wife talked him through treating his wounds with what he had with him. “I cut my back pack straps, camera straps and used my Fanny pack straps” to make improvised tourniquets to control the bleeding.
In a later Facebook post, Burke emphasized the role his wife, Chloe, played in summoning help, calming him over the phone and keeping him focused on tending to his wounds and blowing a rescue whistle. Her Facebook profile lists her as an EMT.
At 4:02 p.m., Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received notification of the incident, NPS said.
With multiple puncture wounds in both legs, Burke knew his situation was perilous.
“In this moment, I accepted on that small hill top that I very well could die,” he wrote. “I recorded a short video telling my people that I loved them.”
‘Please don’t kill the bear’
Fortunately, help arrived in time.
Park rangers were able to locate Burke and administer emergency medical care. He was airlifted to a waiting ambulance and transported to St. John’s Hospital, NPS said. Burke said in his post that he received surgery to clean and staple his wounds.
According to the park service, the injured man was released from the hospital on May 20 and is “expected to make a full recovery.”
Park rangers and wildlife biologists investigated the scene the day after the incident.
“Based on interviews with the injured visitor and evidence found in the area, it is likely that the mauling involved an adult female grizzly bear with at least one older cub,” the National Park Service said. The specific bears had not been identified.
NPS said the bear’s behavior appeared to be “a defensive action,” and that “no further management action is warranted at this time.”
That’s an apparent relief to Burke, who said in his post, “the second thing I said to the park rangers was please don’t kill the bear, she was defending her cub.”
“Wrong place wrong time,” he said.
Bear-country preparation
But Burke was prepared.
“The number one thing that kept me alive during the attack was reading and understanding what to do in the event of a bear attack and being prepared with the bear spray,” he said in his post.
“Though I am not sure if I got to spray any at the bear, having it on me and keeping it in my hands while protecting my vitals 100% is the only reason I am telling my story now.”
The National Park Service shared these tips for backcountry explorers:
• Be alert and aware of your surroundings.
• Make noise, especially in areas with limited visibility or when sound is muffled (e.g., near streams or when it is windy).
• Carry bear spray, know how to use it, and keep it readily accessible.
• Hike in groups of three or more people.
• Do not run. Back away slowly if you encounter a bear.
