Four college students, all wrestling teammates at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, cheated death over the weekend when a grizzly bear attacked two of them.
“We are grateful to be alive,” they said. But what happened? In a press release detailing the incident, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said that the incident occurred on Saturday when the students encountered a bear at close range while antler hunting in Shoshone National Forest.
August Harrison, Brayden Lowry, Orrin Jackson, and Kendell Cummings were searching for antlers in the forest when suddenly Cummings and Lowry were ambushed by the grizzly bear.
The bear first attacked Lowry. “The bear came running out of the trees. I didn’t even see it until it was right in front of me, but I heard the crashing,” Lowry told ABC News in an exclusive interview on “Good Morning America” Wednesday. “I thought quickly that I had to fight for my life – it was a matter of life or death. But I’m grateful to my friend Cummings, he helped me by yelling, punching, and grabbing the bear until the bear turned its attention to him.”
During the interview, Cummings said that the bear then turned to him, knocked him on the ground, and pushed him against the trees while attacking him. “I was putting my hands on its mouth to avoid being chewed, somehow, that trick worked for me.” Cummings added.
After a short wrestle, the bear walked away only to return a few minutes later as Cummings reached for his injured friend. Lowry and Cummings managed to escape the bear’s attack, reunited with their teammates, and called 911 for help.
Jackson said that when they called 911, he spoke to the dispatch lady, and they managed to coordinate a plan to get a Flight for Life there.
In a statement, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department said they were gathering more information and investigating to understand what happened.
“Based on preliminary information, this must have been a sudden and surprise encounter with the grizzly bear,” they added. Over the past weeks, he said there had been increased bear presence throughout the North and South Fork of the Shoshone River. He encouraged anyone camping, hunting or hiking in the area to exercise a lot of caution.
Lowry was taken to a hospital and treated for a compound fracture on his left arm. Cummings was airlifted to Billings Clinic, where he received 60 staples on his head.
Lowry said it was a miracle that they all made it out alive.