Dan Bigley, a passionate enthusiast of nature and outdoor activities, was residing in Alaska when he experienced a terrifying encounter with a bear. This encounter left him without sight and nearly cost him his life.
Dan recounted his story to Black Rifle Coffee Company. He had recently started dating a woman named Amber when his friend invited him to go fishing the following day.
“I said to Amber, I was like ‘Well, hey, I’ll call you when I get off the river,'” he remembered. “Little did we know I would have less than 12 hours left to see.”
As they were returning to their campsite after a day of fishing, Dan’s dog, Maya, gave a slight growl.
“I look up and sure enough like, 30 feet in front of us on the trail, there’s a large brown bear,” he said.
This wasn’t Dan’s first encounter with a bear, but this time the animal seemed particularly irritated. The two decided to retreat slowly to avoid provoking it further.
After feeling somewhat relieved and discussing the intense experience, they noticed movement in the bushes ahead.
“Immediately, my heart just sinks to my toes because when you get followed by a bear, like stalking behavior or cut off by bears, that’s generally pretty bad situation you don’t want to be in.”
While attempting to turn back, the bear suddenly appeared, charging at them with incredible speed.
Unknowingly, they had ventured too close to the bear’s cubs, putting them in a highly dangerous position.
Dan described the bear rushing at him with unbelievable speed, and though he tried to stay calm, it quickly became clear the bear was not bluffing.
“I’ll never forget her eyes, kind of burning yellow with fury and her mouth agape,” he recounted. As he tried to flee, he felt the bear grab him, pulling him from the bushes.
“I just remember hearing this pitiful screaming sound that sounded like the sound of a dying animal and I just remember having the realization, ‘Holy s***, that’s me making that sound.'”
The terrifying next sound he remembered was his own skull crunching as he fell unconscious.
Dan said he awoke several times during the attack. Even when he thought it was over and called out for his friend, the bear returned to continue its assault.
He described how the bear flipped him onto his back, biting across his face and “chewed.”
Fortunately, his friend and nearby fishermen managed to save him after the bear left.
Dan’s injuries were severe. With his face and head unrecognizable and major arteries damaged, doctors initially thought his injuries were “incompatible with life.”
Remarkably, the bear’s attack came within millimeters of his brain, sparing him from death or severe brain injury.
He survived multiple surgeries, avoided deadly infections, and emerged from a coma after 12 days.
After his recovery, Dan reconnected with Amber, and they now have two children together.