Two college friends were traveling through the woods south of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. In the wilderness of the state of Wyoming, they wanted to search for deer antlers, which are stripped by the animals on trees after the mating season.
A little adventure in the midst of nature, a hike in the middle of a fascinating landscape - but also not without danger due to the fauna there. Because in the USA there are significantly more threatening wild animals than in German forests.
And the two young men, Brady Lowry and Kendell Cummings, were unlucky enough to find themselves in such a dangerous situation. The two students met on their university wrestling team and have been good friends ever since.
As they roamed through the thicket on their outing together, it was Brady who accidentally crossed the path of a grizzly bear - apparently surprising the giant animal. When Kendell turned around, the bear had already pounced on his friend. "He shook me, I didn't know what to do," Brady told The Guardian. "I curled up in a ball."
But the grizzly hadn't counted on the fact that he had two well-trained wrestlers in front of him. Although even two very athletic men are not able to overpower a full-grown bear - but Kendell was characterized by his selfless commitment when he came to his companion's help: "I could have run away and then probably lost a friend," says he, "or drag the bear away from him, and so perhaps save him." He chose the latter.
However, by attacking the animal, Kendell in turn drew the bear's wrath. He yelled at the bear, kicked and pushed it. "He lunged at me, bit me and when he was done he sauntered off," he says. "He got my head and my cheek." When he got up, he went to see if Brady was okay. He managed to find a patch some distance away where he had cell phone reception. There he called 911.
Both students came to the hospital, Kendell Cummings had to be operated on there. Both were very fortunate overall: Brady was only slightly injured, also through the brave effort of his friend, and Kendell escaped with several major wounds and a broken arm.
Hikers often do not survive such encounters with bears. Incidentally, the bear will not be pursued any further - according to the responsible authorities, it is almost impossible to identify him with certainty because there are many grizzlies in the area. In addition, it was not a malicious attack, but the natural reflex of a bear that was surprised and felt threatened.
Quelle: "The Guardian"
