A Navy veteran had his jaw ripped off by a grizzly bear while trying to pick up the 10-foot animal with his bare hands after being ambushed in Montana, his family said.
Rudy Noorlander, 61, remains in critical but stable condition at the hospital after he was attacked by a large bear in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, outside of Big Sky, last Friday.
“The grizzly left a big scratch on his right chest, bit his arm, his leg,” his daughter, KateLynn Noorlander, wrote on a GoFundMe page for “the bravest and strongest man I know.”
“And to top it all off, [the bear] giving her what Rudy described as the most disgusting French kiss of her life before biting and ripping her lower jaw.”
The terrifying encounter happened when Noorlander, who runs an ATV rental company, was helping some of his clients track down a deer they had recently shot.
He first spotted a smaller bear and immediately pulled out his rifle to scare it off, but was quickly ambushed by the 10-foot bear, his daughter said.
Rudy Noorlander had his jaw ripped out by a grizzly bear. Courtesy of Katelyn Davis
The Navy veteran is recovering in the hospital after a bear attack in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, outside Big Sky, last Friday.Kary Noorlander-Lyman
“Rudy pointed his gun at the bear but his firearm missed, making it his best option to defend his fists as he didn’t have time to get bear spray from his backpack,” the daughter said.
“When the bear lunged, the only thing Rudy could do was punch the bear in hopes of slowing it down. Unfortunately it didn’t, and after the first shot, the grizzly was on top of Rudy.”
The hunters who were with him managed to scare the bears away and quickly called for the help of a helicopter.
Noorlander had to lie on the ground for two hours after the attack before he could be taken out of the woods. AP
The critically injured Noorlander was flown to a nearby medical center for emergency surgery. AP
“Since the bear threat was still looming, the first responding helicopter had to wait for another helicopter to arrive to potentially scare off any remaining bears,” KateLynn said, adding that her father lay “fully conscious” on the ground for two hours.
“An amazing achievement because he didn’t pass out from fear, pain or blood loss,” he added.
After initially undergoing surgery at Bozeman Deaconess hospital in Montana, Noorlander was flown to the University of Utah Hospital for further treatment.
Authorities closed the park after the attack, although it’s unclear if they found the bear (stock photo). Getty Images/iStockphoto
The US Forest Service quickly closed parts of the park to track the grizzly.
It is unclear if the animal has been found.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
