The Massachusetts man who survived an attack by an angry momma grizzly Sunday in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park when she bit into his can of bear spray says he’s lucky to have survived the most violent ordeal of his life.
Shayne Patrick Burke, 35, was attacked by a mother grizzly while hiking on Signal Mountain and he unknowingly came too close to the mother grizzly’s cub.
Although all accounts say Burke and his hiking partner were doing everything right — making noise and carrying bear spray — the grizzly attacked too quickly for him to deploy the spray. It stopped the attack when it bit into and ruptured the can of bear spray.
After investigating the incident, the National Park Service (NPS) indicated it would not attempt to capture or kill the grizzly, and nobody supports that decision more than Burke himself.
Burke posted about the Sunday encounter on his Instagram page, both to share his story and advocate for the wild animal that nearly killed him.
“I’ve thought long and hard about how I would share my story about my encounter with a female grizzly and her cub,” he posted. “Let me preface this with how much I love and respect wildlife. What happened up on Signal Mountain was a case of wrong place, wrong time.”
An Uncomfortable Feeling
The attack on Signal Mountain started as an earnest search for a great grey owl. Burke wrote that he told his wife he was hiking to a “hot spot” in the woods where he might see one.
Burke had been alone for over an hour when he decided to return to the parking lot where his wife and vehicle were waiting, he wrote. Recognizing he was in a potentially dangerous area, he quickly and cautiously trekked back, making plenty of noise.
“I had a really uncomfortable feeling,” he wrote. “I was breaking branches, singing and talking to myself aloud. These are some things that can help prevent a ‘surprise encounter’ with a brown bear.”
He was moving through a densely wooded valley when he noticed some movement. A grizzly cub was running up a hill roughly 50 yards away from him.
That’s when Burke noticed the mother grizzly charging toward him. He posted that he unholstered his bear spray, stamped and shouted, and braced for the worst.
Shayne Patrick Burke, a 35-year-old military veteran from Massachusetts, says he's lucky to survive an attack by an angry momma grizzly in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. In an Instagram post detailing the attack, he says it was the most violent experience of his life and he has no ill feelings toward the bear. (Shayne Patrick Burke via Instagram) 
Shayne Patrick Burke, a 35-year-old military veteran from Massachusetts, says he's lucky to survive an attack by an angry momma grizzly in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. In an Instagram post detailing the attack, he says it was the most violent experience of his life and he has no ill feelings toward the bear. (Shayne Patrick Burke via Instagram) 
Shayne Patrick Burke, a 35-year-old military veteran from Massachusetts, says he's lucky to survive an attack by an angry momma grizzly in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. In an Instagram post detailing the attack, he says it was the most violent experience of his life and he has no ill feelings toward the bear. (Shayne Patrick Burke via Instagram)
The Most Violent Experience
Burke, a disabled veteran in the U.S. Army Reserve, wrote he’s experienced “being shot at, mortared and IED explosions.” Yet the grizzly attack was the most violent thing he’d ever experienced.
“When she pounced, I opted to turn and give her my back,” he wrote. “I laid down in the prone position on my belly and braced for the ride, interlocking my hands behind my neck to protect my vitals.”
The grizzly bit deep into Burke’s right shoulder, stepped on his back, bit into his thigh and slammed him against the ground repeatedly. Burke described how he screamed while attempting to protect himself from a lethal injury.
“I still had my hands interlocked and my arms protecting my carotid arteries,” he said. “I never let go of the bear spray can.”
When the grizzly turned its attention to his head, Burke assumed it was going in for “the kill bite” to his neck. Fortunately, his neck was covered by his hand firmly clutching the bear spray canister.
“As she bit my hands in the back of my neck, she simultaneously bit the bear spray can, and it exploded in her mouth,” he posted. “This is what saved my life from the initial attack.”
The grizzlies fled the scene. Burke was seriously hurt, but alive.
Alert And Responsive
Once he was confident the attacking grizzly had fled, Burke describes how he immediately ran in the opposite direction. He texted “attacked” to his wife, who was able to call and assist him.
“I applied improvised tourniquets to my legs,” he wrote. “At this point, I knew that I didn’t have any arterial bleeds, and I just needed to slow the bleeding in my legs. My wife was on the phone helping talk through using what I had on me.”
Using straps from his backpack, fanny pack and camera, Burke successfully controlled the bleeding from his many wounds. He lay against a tree with a knife in his hands after successfully reaching 911.
While he waited, Burke said he filmed a short video for his loved ones in case he succumbed to his injuries. Fortunately, a helicopter was quickly dispatched and reached him on Signal Mountain.
“Once the helicopter spotted me, I tried to crawl to a clearing so they could reach me easier,” he wrote. “At this time, the first ranger showed up and started his assessment. Hypothermia was one of the biggest concerns at this point. I was alert and responsive.”
First responders field-dressed Burke’s injuries before flying him to an ambulance waiting in the parking lot he had been trying to reach before the attack. He was evacuated to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson for immediate surgery.
Shayne Patrick Burke, a 35-year-old military veteran from Massachusetts, says he's lucky to survive an attack by an angry momma grizzly in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. In an Instagram post detailing the attack, he says it was the most violent experience of his life and he has no ill feelings toward the bear. (Shayne Patrick Burke via Instagram) 
Shayne Patrick Burke, a 35-year-old military veteran from Massachusetts, says he's lucky to survive an attack by an angry momma grizzly in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park. In an Instagram post detailing the attack, he says it was the most violent experience of his life and he has no ill feelings toward the bear. (Shayne Patrick Burke via Instagram)
Takeaways
Burke credits his survival to two critical factors: prior education and UDAP bear spray.
“The No. 1 thing that kept me alive during the attack was reading and understanding what to do in the event of a bear attack and being prepared with the bear spray,” he wrote. “Though I am not sure if I got to spray any at the bear, having it on me and keeping it in my hands while protecting my vitals 100% is the only reason I am telling my story now.”
He acknowledged that he had more knowledge and experience than most Grand Teton visitors. His military training included first aid and clinical laboratory science classes, which helped him realize he needed to control the bleeding before anything else.
“The biggest shoutout (goes) to the Jenny Lake Rangers who saved my life,” he posted. “Teton (County) SAR are considered one of the most elite SAR groups in North America, and I was so thankful they were there to help.”
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
When he found himself in a potentially lethal encounter with a mother grizzly, Burke handled himself in precisely the way he should have. That’s why he hopes the grizzly that attacked him will be left alone.
“The second thing I said to the park rangers was, ‘Please don’t kill the bear,’” he wrote. “She was defending her cub.”
Despite sustaining severe injuries, Burke supports the National Park Service’s decision to let the bear be. He’s forsworn any retribution because of his respect for wildlife.
“Anyone who knows me knows this about me,” he posted. “What happened up on Signal Mountain was a case of wrong place, wrong time.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
