A man lay in a hospital bed recovering from his injuries Tuesday morning after bugling in more than a burly bull elk.
Hunting near the Dry Gulch, Cascade Creek area in southwestern Montana, Tom Sommer and a friend were doing their best to call in a bull elk when they stumbled across a grizzly bear feasting over a carcass. In an attempt to scare the bear away, the pair yelled at the bear before it decided to charge the pair of hunters.
Deploying bear spray on the attacking animal, only one of the men was able to get his spray to work as the bear pounced on Sommers, biting his thigh and head. As Sommers attempted to shoot the animal during the attack, he was unable to regain control of his weapon. As he put some space between himself and the attacking bruin, he was able to spay the bear with bear spray from a couple feet away and escape.
He was immediately transported to hospital where his head wounds required 90 stitches. According to reports, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks reported the men were in a very remote area close to the headwaters of the west fork of the Madison River. The decision was made by officials not to pursue the animal as it was believed it acted in self defense.
Sommer was reportedly released from hospital late Tuesday.
