The victims of a Tuesday grizzly attack in Yellowstone National Park are “on the road to recovery,” according to an update shared by their family.
The two brothers, ages 14 and 28, have undergone multiple surgeries for extensive injuries inflicted by at least one grizzly on the Mystic Falls Trail near Old Faithful, Jen Wood, the brothers’ aunt, told Cowboy State Daily.
They are recuperating at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, where they were taken by helicopter after the incident.
Wood said her nephews are “doing well and recovering from the horrific attack.”
“The younger one is making an incredible recovery and will hopefully be able to go home soon,” she said. “The older one is doing very well, considering the extensive injuries he sustained.
"He will definitely need much more time to heal and has a long road ahead of him.”
While the victims have been identified on social media, Wood requested that their names not be published to respect her family’s privacy as they recover.
Family Horror
According to Wood, the brothers were enjoying a family vacation in Yellowstone when they decided to hike the Mystic Falls Trail. They were traveling with their mother and sister at the time.
“(My nephews) decided they wanted to hike up higher on the trail, leaving their mother and sister to start back down the trail,” she said. “That’s when they encountered the grizzly, and it attacked them.”
The older brother bore the brunt of the attack, she said.
Despite sustaining life-threatening injuries, he managed to call 911 on his blood-covered phone when the grizzly stopped attacking him and started heading towards his younger brother.
Craig Lerman, another hiker in the area, followed a trail of grizzly tracks and a blood-stained hat until he encountered the older brother.
He told Cowboy State Daily after the attack that he called 911 on his own phone, stayed with the victim until Yellowstone rangers and first responders arrived at the scene.
“He heard me coming and started saying, ‘Help. Help me,’” Lerman said. "When I got close to him, I knew this was a serious matter. He kept talking to me the entire time.
"I ended up giving him my T-shirt (because) he said he was cold and wet. I just laid it over him and reassured him help was on the way.”
Both brothers were life-flighted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and underwent surgery that evening.
Serious Recovery
Wood has been receiving updates on her nephews’ condition from their parents, who were both at the hospital supporting their sons’ recovery.
The younger brother was bitten on the left hand in the attack, which sprained or partially tore a ligament, and his face was extremely swollen from undisclosed injuries.
By Thursday, he was able to stand and walk, and even managed to visit his older brother.
The older brother was more severely injured, she said. He sustained extensive injuries to his right arm, face, and back.
Wood said the victims' father said his son’s arm had been “peeled like a banana down to the elbow.”
Surgeons have installed a temporary drain line to remove fluid from an injury on the back of his head, and he has received and will require more facial reconstruction surgery.
Nevertheless, the older brother was standing and walking by Thursday morning, she said.
Apparently, the brothers have already been able to joke about their ordeal and have taken the first steps on a long road to recovery, their aunt said.
“I can't give much more information than that, as my brother and sister-in-law have asked for privacy at this time,” Wood said.
Many Unknowns
The National Park Service hasn’t released any additional information on Tuesday’s incident.
A large swath of the park, including the Mystic Falls Trail and other backcountry trails and campsites in the vicinity, remains temporarily closed.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but the NPS said the brothers were attacked by “one or more bears” based on evidence at the scene.
This was the first human-grizzly incident in Yellowstone in 2026, and only the second to result in injury in the last five years.
Yellowstone’s last grizzly-related fatality happened in the Lake Village area in 2015. Neither victim of Tuesday’s attack will be joining that list.
“I am happy to say they’re both doing well.” Wood said. “They’re incredibly resilient.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
