News: Long Island Teen Survives Grizzly Bear Attack
(Long Island, N.Y.) A teen from Huntington became an overnight hero after surviving an attack from an eight-hundred-pound grizzly bear. The teen and his friends were camping in the Alaskan wilderness when the incident occurred. Reports stated that it was unusual for a bear of that size to be found at this time of year.
After being interviewed by the press, the teen revealed chilling details about the attack. He claimed that the screams he heard were nothing like the movies or what would result from punches in a fight. Instead, he stated that they sounded like a person being killed, and that the sounds will never be removed from memory.
He described the nature of the trip, claiming that the group of teens had a long day before the attack. They had taken an eleven-mile hike across the Alaskan backdrop. On the day of the incident, they settled near a creek.
Sources stated that the teen recalled the cheers he received at the airport when returning home. He also remembered seeing trout in the creek where the attack occurred. He said that the group used nets to catch the trout, and that one of them ventured uphill to see what was beyond the scrubs.
The rest of the teens remained in the valley when the grizzly bear came into sight. Reports claimed that a group of four or more would have been enough to scare the bear. It’s suggested that potential victims of a grizzly attack should make noise and act by making their presence known.
Complicating matters, adrenaline began to kick in for the Huntington teen. While the boys scattered, he was faced with the flight or fight dilemma and admitted the difficulty in playing dead. He claimed that the bear, which was extremely close and on the move, made it impossible for him to do anything but flee.
After taking off on foot, the teen began to hear a low growl. He then saw the animal charge at one of his friends. He later proceeded to unzip his pack and run in the absence of the excess weight.
The teen estimated that he ran up a thirty-foot hill in a matter of seconds as a response to the threat of the attack. He feared that the bear would catch up to him, bite his leg, and drag him down to the valley. Sources claimed that bears normally leave after attacking one person, making the teens suspect that the robust animal had been protecting a cub.
The Huntington hero believed he saw what could have been a cub scatter in the bushes. At the top of the hill, he had the optimum view of the attack. Once he saw that his friend was in trouble, he left the safety of the hill to protect the fellow teen.
After working at Good Samaritan hospital since the ninth grade, the teen gathered enough experience to make a successful emergency response. He had volunteered at the Intensive Care Unit and believed that he’d save his friend. His immediate reaction was to tear off his own shirt and use it to tie around the bleeding neck of his wounded companion.
He then proceeded to remove his socks to tie around the teen’s side. Realizing that the injured teen was suffering from hypothermia, which resulted from blood loss, he used rain pants to keep in the warmth. After checking vitals and knowing that his friend was safe, the teen waited with the others for the helicopter to make a rescue.
No sounds were sweeter than that of the chopper as it descended to aid the group of boys. The teen later questioned his status as a hero, claiming that he had only been doing what he was taught.
