A woman was left with a chunk of flesh missing from her buttock after a bear attacked her on a hiking trail in Wyoming, the Daily Star reported.
The attack happened on August 10 on the Teton Pass trail, where Maggie Schwartz was walking with her two dogs. As the trail curved, she suddenly came face to face with a bear cub. A moment later, an enraged mother bear burst from the bushes and knocked her to the ground.
Fighting off the bear
During the struggle, Schwartz rolled onto her back and pushed her feet against the bear's chest to defend herself, but the animal managed to sink its teeth into her buttock, leaving three deep puncture wounds. She managed to reach a canister of bear spray and fire it into the animal's face, at which point the bear fled immediately.
Investigators later found that the bite had left only three tooth marks instead of the usual four. The fourth mark had struck the back pocket of her jeans, where her phone was, leaving a fang mark on the cracked screen. That was likely what spared her from more serious injuries.
Treatment at hospital
Schwartz made it to a parking area, where a local rescuer helped her before she was taken to St. John's hospital in Jackson. Doctors treated deep wounds on her buttock as well as scratches on her thighs, back, neck and elbow.
Because bear fur had gotten into the bite wounds, a nurse had to remove a small area of flesh. The wounds were left open to reduce the risk of infection, and Schwartz was prescribed a course of antibiotics along with a tetanus shot.
'In shock'
Schwartz said she had been in shock and felt embarrassed showing the rescuer the bitten area, but said she now feels well and holds no grudge against the bear.
An earlier bear attack was reported in Anchorage, Alaska, where a brown bear attacked a woman who had gone jogging alone in a forest. She managed to fight off the animal using pepper spray.
