Canadian Dad Attacked By Grizzly Bear While Cycling In British Columbia

A Canadian cyclist was lucky to escape with his life when he was attacked by a grizzly bear while riding in the woods.

Colin Dowler was out riding in a remote part of British Columbia, near the west coast of the country, when he spotted the large, powerful animal 30 metres away.

The 45-year-old had hoped it would either pass by him or run back into the woods, but instead, it charged straight at him. And despite his best efforts at using his bike and hiking pole like a sword and shield, the animal bit him on his stomach.

It then lifted him up and threw him in a ditch further down the trail before taking a bite out of his leg.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I know this is your territory, I'm just passing through - we don't have to do this. It was so much pain and weirdness, I could feel the hot blood.

CBC

"I'm being rag-dolled, suspended by my flank by a bear carrying me."

He added: "There was a point - I was scared the whole time - but I thought, 'man, it would be cool to be catching this on video'."

Eventually, he managed to pull out his small pocket knife and stab the bear in its neck. According to reports, it was later shot and killed by wildlife officers.

In the same interview, Mr Dowler explained how he was able to escape the bear's clutches. He said: "It grabbed me by the stomach and kind of pushed me down and dragged me toward the ditch maybe 50 feet. I tried eye-gouging it away and it didn't really work.

CBC

"It sounded like it was grating my bones up. Somehow, I don't know how I did it. I used both hands to pull underneath the bear to get to that knife, and I grabbed the knife ... and stabbed the bear in his neck.

"It let go of me immediately. It was bleeding quite badly, I wasn't really sure if it was dying faster than I was."

After breaking free from the bear's powerful jaws, Mr Dowler used his shirt to make a tourniquet and rode more than four miles for help. Fortunately, he came across five logging camp workers who gave provided first aid and phoned for an ambulance.

The dad-of-two is now recovering at Vancouver General Hospital from the 29 July attack.

Topics: Interesting, Weird, Animals, Canada, Bear, Health

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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