Dan Bigley, an avid backpacker living in Alaska, has recounted the terrifying moment a brown bear mauled him, leaving him permanently blind and with injuries deemed 'incompatible with life'. The attack occurred while he was on a fishing trip with a friend, just hours after starting a new relationship.
Bigley told Black Rifle Coffee Company that the pair were returning to their campground when his dog, Maya, growled. They spotted a large brown bear 30 feet ahead, which appeared agitated. Despite backing away slowly, the bear followed them. Realising they were near her cubs, the situation escalated rapidly.
The bear charged at 'missile speed'. Bigley tried to stand his ground but soon fled into bushes. 'Before I'd even hit the ground, she had a hold of my legs,' he said. He recalled hearing 'a pitiful screaming sound' and realising it was his own voice. The next sound was his skull 'crunching' before he lost consciousness.
Bigley regained consciousness several times during the attack. When he called out to his friend, the bear returned and bit across his face, 'chewing' him. Eventually, his friend and fishermen rescued him after the bear left him for dead.
In the emergency room, medics said his injuries were 'incompatible with life'. Six of seven main arteries were severed or lacerated, and his head and face were unrecognisable. Remarkably, the bear's bites missed his brain by millimetres, sparing him from death or severe brain damage. He survived surgery, fought off lethal infection, and emerged from a coma 12 days later.
After recovery, Bigley reunited with Amber, the woman he had just started dating. They now have two children together.
