Veteran survives grizzly’s attack after it bites into can of bear spray

Shayne Patrick Burke was on a short hike this month to photograph owls in the backcountry of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when he spotted a grizzly bear cub about 50 to 70 yards in front of him.

Instantly, Burke knew that the cub’s presence signaled trouble, he wrote on Instagram.

Moments later, Burke, 35, was attacked by the cub’s mother.

He turned his back, got on his stomach and locked his hands behind his neck, following advice he had read about grizzly bear attacks, he said.

During the attack, on May 19, the bear repeatedly bit Burke and picked him up and slammed him to the ground, before, he wrote, one of his screams “unfortunately, but fortunately, turned her attention to my head.”

It was a terrifying moment, but it ultimately saved his life.

The bear bit at Burke’s neck, but his hands and arms were still interlocked behind it and, crucially, he had grabbed a can of bear spray when he saw the cub.

“I never let go of the bear spray can,” he wrote. “As she bit my hands in the back of my neck she simultaneously bit the bear spray can and it exploded in her mouth.”

The explosion scared the bear away.

Burke, a disabled veteran in the Army Reserve, said that the attack was “the most violent” thing he had experienced, adding, “I’ve experienced being shot at, mortared and IED explosions.”

Grand Teton National Park said Burke, who was visiting from Massachusetts, was discharged from a hospital Monday and was expected to make a full recovery.

The park said that the attack appeared to be a defensive action by the bear, which was responding to a “surprise encounter.” The bear has not been identified and Grand Teton said that no further “management action,” which could include euthanizing the bear, was required.

After Burke distanced himself from the bear, he called his wife. She helped him figure out how to use the supplies he had to make tourniquets around his legs.

He also called 911, which was able to triangulate his location for a helicopter rescue.

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