Grizzly Bear Attacks: Two Hunting Survival Stories

It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been in the backcountry, navigating the same hills and the same valleys. One day it could randomly happen and it could happen to any one of us: A chance encounter with a grizzly bear and a desperate fight for survival.

Have you ever thought about what you’d do if that happened? Beyond a fleeting daydream of heroism, have you truly prepared for it by going through the steps you should take, making sure you have the right equipment, and never becoming complacent about your safety when out in the wild?

If not, then maybe you should just sit next hunting season out. Instead, stay home in your gown and slippers, where things are always cozy and comfortable and nothing bad ever happens.

Who are we kidding - staying home where it’s “safe” isn’t an option for MTNTOUGH athletes, so rather than head into the woods with blissful ignorance it's time to wrap your head around the possibility of a grizzly encounter.

So, stop everything and find out what really happened to two of the toughest hunters in the backcountry.

We'll start with the legendary Todd Orr; the marrow of Montana.

On paper, his story reads like one unluckiest strings of mountain experiences in human history since Todd is the survived a double grizzly bear attack... all on the same day.

Now, anyone with a shred of empathy will see the headline above and instantly take pity on the man.

Don't. Save it. And get ready for a masterclass in toughness.

Watch and be amazed at how the obvious storyline of 'terrible, terrible luck' is completely outclassed by resilience.

By the end, hell, probably after the first 10 minutes, you'll have a feeling that Todd was made for that day - you may even feel a strange sense of relief or gratitude that fate landed with Todd on this one - because if anyone could survive that day, he was always our best shot.

Surviving any grizzly attack will get your blood pumping, let alone two on the same day by the same bear. Each story is inspiring. And no matter how hopeless you feel in any moment, never give up.

Tyler Wilschetz certainly gets the feeling. It was a short-lived one though as he stared into the eyes of a grizzly bear. See how resilience squashed any moment of doubt, lived through the experience, and what advice he has for the rest of us.

Story of a Grizzly Bear Attack Survivor

“I have this weird feeling lately. I don’t want you dying young and leaving me at home with these three kids.”

That’s what his wife said to him as they lay in bed together the night before the hunt. Little did Tyler know that the next morning would be the scariest one he’d ever faced because he was going to meet a grizzly bear head on… and survive.

It was foggy and dark in Montana that morning. Tyler found his way through the thick brush with a headlamp, stopping every 10 minutes or so to call. He was hunting deer, so when he heard a rustling sound in the bushes, he thought he’d got lucky and took out his bow in anticipation.

But there, 15 yards away, was a grizzly bear on all fours. The bear’s teeth were showing and Tyler heard a deep gargling growl that made it clear this was no game. Tyler fell backwards in the chaos. As he stood up, he reached for his Springfield XD-M and started screaming at the bear, trying to scare it away with his voice.

Before he knew it, the grizzly was 4 feet away and Tyler had to start shooting. Bam, bam, bam, bam. The bear spun round then charged back toward him. Three more shots were fired. The bear fell down and rolled two or three times.

But the bear, now paralyzed from the waist down, got up on his front legs and continued to claw his way over to where Tyler stood, attacking with his mouth wide open and fighting to the end.

Three more shots went off in the early morning silence. People heard them echoing far away in the distance.

And Tyler finally got a chance to make a run for it back to his truck to race away.

Lessons Learned Out There

When it’s man versus grizzly bear, the grizzly bear often wins, especially when the attack happens at such close range and so quickly. Here are some lessons from Tyler’s interview on how to prepare for and what to do when the unthinkable happens, in order to stay alive.

After his close encounter with a grizzly bear, Tyler Wilschetz has learned to be extra careful when hunting or exploring wild areasListen to Your Gut (and Other Clues You Get)

Tyler got a few clues that something was coming before the attack happened, and listening to one of them is probably what saved his life.

Before he headed up the hills that morning, Tyler got a strong gut feeling that told him to do something he’d never done before: wear and chamber his gun before starting the hunt.

Because he did that, he had his gun ready to pull and shoot when the bear attacked him, when every second counted. This is one of the aspects of mental toughness that we work hard for at MTNTOUGH, because the research proves that how a person copes with stress directly alters their performance.

Have a Plan A and a Plan B

A bear attack is nothing like a controlled shooting range. This is real life and unpredictable, so be prepared.

Tyler describes a grizzly attack as “utter chaos,” and he stresses that even if you think you have time to react, when it happens in real life, there’s no time to work out what to do. This means there needs to be a Plan A, Plan B, and even a Plan C before ever going in to the hunt.

In chaotic situations like these, a lot can go wrong. Carry more than one weapon, such as a 15-round, 10mm gun and bear spray. At least two weapons must be easy to grab at a moment’s notice, in case one doesn’t work or you drop it under pressure.

And, most importantly, practice using both weapons so that muscle memory takes over and defense is an automatic reaction if the bear fight ever comes knocking.

Harness the Experience and Knowledge of Others

Knowledge and numbers carry power in nature and survival. These can be harnessed in two simple ways: talking to others and traveling in groups.

Talking about grizzly attacks can take away a lot of fear of the unknown and save lives because we are more mentally prepared for such an event. Listen to the stories of those who have survived a grizzly attack, to find out what they did and didn’t do in the situation. What worked for them, and what would they have done differently looking back?

Watch videos and interviews like Tyler’s to get a sense of what a real attack is like because as Tyler says, “It’s nothing like the movies.”

Talk to local wardens for advice, as they know the area well and have their ears to the ground on what’s happening there.

Then travel in pairs or groups, preferably with experienced badass backcountry hunters and mountain athletes who actively work on their own mental toughness so they don’t run scared at the first sign of danger.

The Importance of Mental Toughness

Even though Tyler was a seasoned hunter in the same mountains he’d navigated many times before, he got taken by complete surprise.

And when a 6-foot, 400-pound grizzly bear attacked him, it wasn’t the power in his muscles that saved him or how fast he could run back to his truck. It wasn’t even the gun that shot five rounds into the bear that day. It was his ability to stay level-headed under crushing pressure, taking the right steps with what was available to him to stay alive. If he’d lost his cool, he wouldn’t have been able to defend himself and that gun would have been useless.

Tyler didn’t flinch, even after falling flat on his back and giving the bear time to move closer. His survival instinct kicked in. He got up, took action and shot that gun over and over, then got out of harm’s way as soon as possible.

During his candid grizzly bear attack interview, Tyler shares that MTNTOUGH would have been a good fitness app to use to prepare himself for such a confrontation. To be ready for whatever comes your way, in the wilderness and life, give MTNTOUGH a try with this free 14-day trial.

A grizzly bear can attack anyone western hunting, so best be ready for it. But when we strip away the sensational headlines and media frenzies, how likely is such an attack in the real world? Let’s start by looking at the number of grizzly bears in the wild.

The Resurgence of Grizzly Bears

Keith Aune, a retired Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks worker, sums up the battle between man and grizzly in this quote:

“Bears and humans represent two dominant mammal species on the North American landscape. Both are very intelligent beings that often desire to use the same lands and expect the other to yield when conflict arises. It is no real surprise then that, since the beginning of time, bears and man have faced off in an ancient battle for food, space, and life itself. There is no doubt that modern man has acquired the capacity to eradicate bears if we wish, and we nearly accomplished it.”

Source: Grizzly Bears Of Montana

In the early 1900s, the grizzly bear population had become locally extinct in many states and was estimated to have dropped to less than 300 in Montana by 1930. It became clear that it was time to take action and save a threatened population, but change took a very long time and things got worse before they improved.

Forty-five years later, in 1975, grizzly bears were finally listed as a federally protected threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 states of the US, and they are still on that list today. This status means that the population is at risk of becoming endangered shortly if threats to grizzly bear populations continue. By the time grizzly bears were placed on the endangered list, there were only 800 of them, at most, left in all 48 lower states. Unfortunately, this was too little too late, and grizzly bears had already disappeared from many US states, but some states took action, including Montana.

This has resulted in an estimated 2,000+ grizzly bears roaming Grizzly bears still face many challenges in habitat loss, poaching, and climate change, but the population is moving in the right direction. With more grizzly bears in the lower 48 states than a century ago, where could a backcountry hunter most likely run into one?

Grizzly Bear Territory in the Lower 48 States

While it’s impossible to say where every grizzly bear lives in Montana, researchers and scientists have a fairly good idea of how grizzly bears have expanded across recovery ecosystems in the state. Hunters in or around any of these locations might encounter a grizzly bear.

As of 2022, there were about:

1,000+ grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide of North Central Montana
1,000+ in Greater Yellowstone in northwestern Wyoming, eastern Idaho, and southwestern Montana
50+ in the Cabinet-Yaak area of northwestern Montana and northern Idaho
50+ in the US portion of the Selkirks area of northern Idaho, northeast Washington, and southeast British Columbia

Hunting grizzly bears remains illegal in Montana and the Lower 48, but licensed hunters stalk the same public and private lands as the grizzly, searching for the same prey as. In Montana specifically, a hunter’s path might overlap with grizzly bears in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness in the northwest, the Bob Marshall Wilderness in the central part of the state, the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, and the Scapegoat Wilderness in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.

So, What Are the Odds of a Grizzly Bear Attack?

There’s no denying that a grizzly bear attack makes a great news headline and gets a lot of attention. Who doesn’t love a story of man versus beast where the underdog defies the odds? But here at MTNTOUGH we’ve noticed that breaking news doesn’t always give an accurate view of what’s happening at a grass roots level, so we'll take the lead here.

Just like Tyler, we call Montana home, as such, we'll focus on the statistics related to Montana grizzly encounters and how likely other backcountry hunters in the Montana mountains are to face a similar fate. So then, care to know the odds of a sealed fate at the claws of a griz?

Visitors of Yellowstone Park are more likely to drown or burn to death after falling into a hot spring than to be killed by a grizzly bear.

This starts putting things into perspective, and perhaps our greatest fears are not the worst thing that can or will happen to us. According to Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), grizzly bears roam west of Billings, in the western two-thirds of Montana. Even though there are more bears around than before thanks to conservation efforts (more on this shortly), the chances of an attack or fatal encounter are extremely low.

Government departments do warn that those in the backcountry have a slightly higher chance of encountering a grizzly bear than those in more touristy areas. While no clear statistics are available on the number of attacks in recent years, we're always up for a challenge, so we dug a little deeper.

Montana Grizzly Bear Attacks of the Past Few Years

Only three reports of grizzly attacks were found on the FWP website, and only one of these was fatal:

July, 2021 - Sadly, a woman was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear in Ovando, along the Great Divide bicycle route. This was a food-conditioned bear that was most likely drawn in by the smell of food in the woman’s tent. The victim and other campers scared the bear off with loud noises, but the bear came back an hour later for the food. The victim refused to leave the tent and sleep in a locked building, even after scaring off the grizzly bear.
August, 2021 - Two men were injured by a grizzly sow protecting her cubs after a chance encounter off trail in the Bear Creek area, in Madison Range. Both men survived.
October, 2022 - A hunter and his wife were charged by a grizzly bear at close range in a creek bottom east of Choteau. The hunter shot and injured the bear, and the couple survived.

In the Greater Yellowstone Park specifically, only one visitor was injured by a grizzly bear in 2021 but four bears died in the same park that year. The stats clearly show that grizzly bears don’t easily attack people – they prefer to flight to fight.

Today, most revere grizzlies for their power and cunning, there’s much more to be done as we move away from a stark perspective that consumed our culture nearly a century ago.

Historical Context of Grizzly Bear Attacks

In the past, grizzly bears were villainized as dangerous predators that would kill anyone given half a chance. But research, conservation efforts, and educational initiatives have come a long way in shaping these ideas into one where we better understand grizzly behaviors and the important role these animals play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. There’s finally a growing respect for these magnificent creatures.

And, as outdoor activities become more and more popular in the Western US, including the state of Montana, like hiking, hunting, camping, and wildlife viewing, there are more and more opportunities for people to interact with the amazing ecosystem that grizzly bears help maintain, and more chances to see or even come into contact with a grizzly bear. Outdoor enthusiasts are coming to understand that without grizzly bears there is no ecosystem, but without people the ecosystem will still thrive. So it makes sense that people are in grizzly bear country – grizzly bears aren’t in people country. By avoiding conflicts with grizzly bears, we are protecting our natural resources.

Emphasis is now placed on coexisting with grizzly bears and minimizing defensive tactics like firearms and bear spray. As our understanding of grizzly bear behavior has improved, guidelines have shifted to a more proactive approach in avoiding grizzly bear encounters altogether. This requires people to make a noise when in bear territory so they don’t give a grizzly bear a fright, avoiding areas where a grizzly bear has recently been active, and storing food and garbage properly, to avoid attracting and habituating grizzlies.

The first step in all of this is to know how to identify a grizzly bear. It sounds simple, but with 13,000 black bears living in Montana, and an overlap in physical features, it’s easy to get them mixed up.

Identifying a Grizzly Bear vs. a Black Bear

Both grizzly bears and black bears roam the western half of Montana, so it’s important to be able to tell them apart. Unless you've studied or hunted grizzly before, it’s far too easy to confuse a grizzly bear and a black bear in the wild, as many physical characteristics, diet, and behaviors are misleading. Even if you're not hunting for grizzly, you should know the differences as the temperaments and strategies for handling these different types of bears are different. Here's your crash course in distinguishing physical characteristics of a grizzly bear from a black bear:

Face: Grizzly bears have a more dish-shaped and broader facial profile, with their eyes appearing deeper-set than those of black bears. Black bears have a straighter or more Roman-nosed profile, giving their faces a flatter appearance.
Ears: Grizzly bears have shorter, rounder ears that might appear smaller in proportion to their larger heads. Black bears have taller, more pointed ears that are more prominent on their heads.
Shoulders: Grizzly bears have a hump on their shoulders because their muscles are very well-developed for digging in the ground and turning over rocks. This hump sits between the shoulders of the front legs, and can be quite clear when the bear is on all fours. Grizzly bears have a prominent shoulder hump, which is a large mass of muscles that help them with digging and turning over rocks. Black bears, on the other hand, have a more sloping profile without a distinct hump.
Claws: Grizzly bears have longer and straighter claws than black bears, measuring up to 4 inches in length, making them more suited to dig and tear apart prey. Black bear claws are around 1.5 inches long and more curved, which helps with climbing trees more effectively.

Don't Use the Following Methods to Identify A Grizzly

You'd think that using the color of fur would be the easiest method to tell brown bears (grizzly) from black bears, but that and their respective sizes are both unreliable ways to pinpoint species. Here's why:

Coloration: Grizzly bear fur can vary from light to dark brown, often exhibiting a mix of blonde and brown hairs. These bears frequently have lighter-colored tips on their fur, giving them a "grizzled" or "silver-tipped" appearance, which inspired their name. Grizzlies usually have lighter fur around their faces as well. On the other hand, black bears display a wide range of colors, from black to various shades of brown such as cinnamon, chocolate, and even blonde. Contrary to their name, not all black bears possess black fur. However, their coloration tends to be more uniform across their bodies, including their faces.
Size: In general, grizzly bears are larger than black bears. Adult male grizzlies typically weigh between 400 and 800 pounds, whereas adult female grizzlies weigh between 290 and 440 pounds. In contrast, adult male black bears usually weigh between 130 and 660 pounds, and adult female black bears weigh between 90 and 180 pounds. However, these weights can vary significantly depending on factors such as age, habitat, season, and food availability.

Grizzly Bear Behaviors Every Western Hunter Should Know

The most common reason for a grizzly bear to attack is because the bear has become used to people and learned to eat people’s food. These bears are no longer scared of humans, and people should not get in the way of an easy meal or those people could become the meal.

Laws and regulations are now in place to curb this trend because it’s easier for humans to change their behavior than it is for a grizzly bear. Nevertheless, grizzly bears still become habituated far more often than they should and we should all take responsibility to stop this from happening.

One way to avoid a grizzly bear attack is to be aware of the seasonality and timing of when they are active; they are most active in spring and summer, primarily at dawn, at dusk, and when feeding.

Grizzly bears are usually solitary animals, except during mating season or when a female is raising cubs. Sometimes grizzly bears attack because a mother is protecting her young, and sometimes a male is protecting his territory or his kill. Grizzly bears have also been known to attack people carrying dead hoofed mammals (ungulates), or those imitating sounds of prey, like Tyler was right before he got attacked. Though rare, a predatory bear seems to attack simply because it wants to (no grizzly bear has been able to confirm or deny this assumption).

When we look at the facts, the rather grizzly picture of imminent attack takes on a more relaxed tone. There’s actually a very small chance of being attacked by a grizzly bear in Montana, even in the backcountry, and this is more likely to result in injury rather than death for hunters equipped to deal with the situation.

Despite their size and strength, most grizzly bears are not aggressive toward humans unless they feel threatened or provoked. With the right tactics and preparation, it is possible to survive a grizzly bear encounter and minimize the risk of injury or death. The first and most important tactic is knowing how to avoid a confrontation altogether.

How To Avoid a Confrontation With a Grizzly Bear

As part of Montana’s efforts to minimize conflicts between grizzly bears and people, certain precautions need to be taken to avoid confrontations. As they say, prevention is better than cure. Some of these precautions are recommended by authorities, others are required by law.

Food Storage: Grizzly bears are opportunistic feeders with a keen sense of smell. If they smell food at a campsite or after a hunt, there’s a good chance they’ll follow their nose to find it. Grizzly bears are described as “curious problem-solvers,” and are very good at finding ways to get to a food source. This makes it essential to store food properly, seal garbage, and not leave out anything with an odor, such as dog food or bird seed. Pack meat as soon as possible, and don’t cut up a carcass at dawn or dusk. Keep food out of reach of bears, either by using certified bear-resistant containers and keeping these locked, or by putting food in a sealed building. If a bear has claimed a kill, leave the bear alone and report lost game to FWP.
Be Heard: Grizzly bears prefer to avoid humans, so making a noise while hiking or moving through bear country can alert them to your presence and give them a chance to move away. Noises can be made by clapping hands, singing, yelling out every now than then, and talking to others. Make more noise when approaching a water source, like a river or stream, and when approaching an area that makes it hard for a grizzly bear to see you coming, like a blind corner. Do not rely on bear bells to alert bears as a grizzly bear can only hear these bells when they’re close, and this doesn’t give the bear enough time to move away. Don’t ever jog or run in bear country. If you don’t want to “run” into a bear, don’t do it.
Safety in Numbers: Grizzly bears are more likely to confront an individual rather than a group of people, so it's a good idea to travel with at least two other people in bear country. Groups make more noise, more smells, and are easier to see, so there’s less chance of startling a grizzly. Group hikes also increase the chances of at least one person spotting a grizzly bear, and this gives the group time to slowly and quietly back away, while keeping an eye on it.

Tips for Staying Safe While Hunting in Grizzly Bear Territory

First things first - understand that if you’re hunting in Montana, anywhere west of Billings, you’re hunting in grizzly bear territory. So make sure you’re prepared for an encounter, even if the chances are slim. Here are a few ways tot take the proper precautions.

Self-Defense: Carry EPA-approved bear spray as this sprays wide enough to fend off a grizzly (unlike some other protective sprays), but some parks don’t allow bear spray so check the park’s regulations before entering. Bear spray needs to be kept on a belt holster or in a chest holster at all times, never in a backpack. Only use bear spray if an aggressive bear is charging or attacking you and is within 25 to 30 feet, or you’ll make it mad and could make the situation worse. Practice using bear spray by pulling a non-active can out of your holster quickly, removing the safety, and spraying. Don’t ever spray bear spray on your skin or clothing, and never leave the canister in a hot car.
Stay Alert: Stay out of areas that are closed for bear management. Keep an eye out for signs of grizzly bears wherever you go, and be alert if you spot any. Grizzly bears leave clues, like fresh tracks, scat, carcasses, claw marks on trees, and shredded logs. Keep a close eye on areas where a grizzly bear might be. These bears love sleeping, feeding, and resting in thick brush and around large trees. Stay away from areas where there are large areas of flowering plants, berries, or fruits. And be extra vigilant around water sources and wherever there’s tall vegetation that could be hiding a bear.
Know Grizzly vs. Black Bear: It is essential to be able to distinguish between a grizzly bear and a black bear, as killing a grizzly bear can lead to serious legal consequences and negatively impact bear populations. Study the physical characteristics of both bears and complete the FWP’s bear identification program and test. Learn about the behaviors of each bear, and look for clues in the environment to tell what bears are active in the area. If there is an encounter with a bear, try to observe its physical characteristics and behavior to decide what bear it is before taking any action.

What To Do if a Grizzly Bear Charges or Attacks

Most grizzly bears avoid people and don’t actively engage. If there’s a chance encounter, most bears look away, ignore the person, or retreat. This is the time to slowly back away and get out of there. But sometimes a grizzly bear gets a big fright and thinks it’s under attack, or it’s a female with cubs to guard, or it has a kill nearby that it wants to protect. The reality is, just as Tyler states in the interview, an attack encounter is utter chaos - so you’ll most likely rely on instinct and adrenaline. But in the off-chance you remember the following at the speed of neurons firing, it could be a game changer in the outcome of being charged or attacked by a grizzly bear.

The Tells of Behavior: A grizzly bear that might attack usually shows one of two behaviors when it encounters a human. The first is agitated or defensive behavior, where it huffs, sways its head back and forth, bellows, swats the ground, drools, and/or hops forward. On the other hand, a predatory bear is curious. It follows the person, and slowly or methodically approaches them, perhaps suddenly charging. It’s important to notice what the bear is doing before the charge because this affects how to deal with the situation.
The Charge: An agitated bear is very likely to charge, either as a bluff or for real. In a bluff charge, the bear runs or moves toward a person but turns away or stops before touching them. During a bluff charge, it’s best to stand firm, speak decisively and calmly, and use bear spray at a range of 25 to 30 feet - a tall order even for those who’ve worked through the MTNTOUGH Mental Toughness program.. Wait for the animal to move off, or back away slowly while keeping an eye on the bear. Running triggers the bear’s instinct to attack, so don’t ever turn and run because a human cannot outrun a grizzly. Don’t think you will be the first.
Bear Spray: Bear spray is often effective at stopping a charging bear, and it should be used as a last resort if the bear continues to approach. When being charged, point the bear spray canister at a slight downward angle and spray a cloud at the grizzly bear’s face. Be ready to spray multiple times or empty the can. Remember that strong winds affect spray distance and direction, while snow, rain, and cold weather decrease spray distance. It’s best to practice using bear spray before you go hunting. So you don’t have to stop and think about what to do when time is of the essence.
Play Dead and Pray: If a grizzly bear charges and it looks like contact will be made, experts recommend lying face down and playing dead, as this can make the bear lose interest in you. Cover your head and neck as much as possible with clasped hands, stay flat on your stomach, and spread your legs, so there’s less chance of being overturned. If you get a gap, spray bear spray into the animal’s face. Keep your backpack on for protection, and don’t make a sound. Lie there and play dead for a few minutes, giving the bear time to move away with any cubs, then leave the area when you’re sure it’s safe. It’s important to make sure this is a grizzly bear charge because an attack by a black bear means fighting back and never playing dead.

A predatory bear that charges will not lose interest in the attack. As the charge happens, do your best to stand firm. Spray the grizzly bear with bear spray when the animal is within 25 to 30 feet. Show aggression by waving your arms and shouting loudly, to try and scare off the bear. If contact is made, fight and don’t ever give up.

Surviving a Grizzly Bear Attack: What You Need to Remember

Over the last century, there have been significant changes in how we view, interact with, and treat grizzly bears. First, we attacked them to a point near extinction. Now the grizzly bear is protected by federal laws and complex conservation efforts that safeguard not only grizzly bears, but entire ecosystems that these bears support.

Though powerful and feared, grizzly bears don’t attack nearly as often one might think. In fact, many grizzly bears retreat at the sight of humans. But when a bear is startled and thinks it’s under attack, or it has a reason to be aggressive, there’s a chance it will attack a hunter.

This is when being prepared and educated are vitally important: Learn about grizzly bears and how to identify them. Listen to stories of people who have encountered grizzly bears and survived, taking notes on the tips they give and how they describe what happened leading up to the encounter. Practice using bear spray, plan your hunting trip carefully, have all the essential equipment you need, and keep bear spray in a holster on your body at all times.

Taking safety seriously can be the difference between life and death, for both you and grizzly bears, so come mentally strong, well-prepared, and do everything you’ve learned to avoid encountering to a grizzly bear on your hunt. Stay safe.

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