Cody, Wyoming - A man was hiking alone on the Deer Creek Trail on Tuesday afternoon when he accidentally startled a grizzly bear in a day bed about 8 feet from him
The bear charged him so quickly that he was unable to deploy his bear spray. The bear badly injured the man's arm and chest, but he was able to administer first aid on his own and make his way back to the Deer Creek trailhead, which is about 41 miles south of Cody along the South Fork Shoshone River.
The Park County sheriff's Office received a report of the attack at about 3 p.m. from another hiker, who began driving the man to the Cody hospital. Wyoming Game and Fish officers met the victim on the way.
In an interview, the man reported that he was hiking alone on a game trail in the Washakie Wilderness when he startled the grizzly. The bear immediately charged, knocked the man to the ground, inflicting bite and claw injuries. Although the victim had bear spray on his belt, the attack happened so quickly that he didn't have time to deploy it.
Wyoming Game and Fish said that due to the remote location and low probability of locating the bear, no management action was planned.
The victim's name, age, and place of residence have not been released.
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