Two US college students were left covered in blood and frightened after a savage bear attacked them on a hunting trip.
Brady Lowry and Kendell Cummings, both wrestlers, were hunting antlers on Saturday with their two other friends at Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming when the pair decided to split and head up to higher ground.
August Harrison and Orrin Jackson headed back to the car and left the pair to go hiking when Mr Lowry suddenly realised a grizzly bear was nearby.
“I saw bear crap all over, and I looked at Kenny and said, ‘There is a grizzly bear here.' And right after I said that the bear came out of the willows. It was thick.
"It came at me and charged me and tackled me off this cliff into this gulley and was going at me for a little bit", Mr Lowry told Utah news station KSLTV.
The bear broke Mr Lowry's arm after shaking him around as the student curled up into a ball to try and defend himself.
He said: “It shook me around and I didn’t know what to do. I curled up in a ball and it got me a few more times.”
Mr Cummings witnessed his friend being attacked by the bear and immediately stepped into action.
He shouted at the bear to try and distract the animal from Mr Lowry but when the attack continued, Mr Cummings kicked the bear and pulled its hair back.
The bear then turned around and started to chase Mr Cummings as he tackled him to the ground. He said: “It tackled me, chewed me up a bit, and then when it was done, it wandered off."
Mr Lowry ran back up the hill to try and find his two other friends and desperately called the emergency services.
His friends then started searching for Mr Cummings after he was attacked by the bear for a second time.
He said: “The bear circled back around, and it got me again, chewed on me, and that’s when it got my head and cheek. And then it went away again for whatever reason.”
Mr Cummings suffered serious cuts and bruises to his face and body which left him covered in blood.
He then tried to pull himself up and look for his friends as blood was pouring down his face.
Park County Search and Rescue came to their rescue along with a hunter, who was in the local area and helped the friends reach the trailhead before airlifting them to hospital.
Mr Lowry admitted he was relieved to escape the horrible ordeal: “I’m just glad we have each other still; glad all four of us walk off that mountain.
“I don’t think anyone else lesser than a wrestling team with a bond as we have – they wouldn’t have handled it as well as we did.”
The friends were all carrying bear spray at the time to help fend off animal attacks but as it happened so quickly they were unable to use it.
Mr Lowry said: “It happened so fast; there was no self-defence that could have been done in that situation."
Mr Lowry's dad Dallas said he's grateful for Kendell saving his son's life after he reacted quickly to save his friend.
