The terrifying ordeal unfolded on August 24, 2017, when Jeremy Evans set out into the woods of Alberta in hopes of hunting a ram.
Instead of spotting his intended prey, the maintenance supervisor unexpectedly crossed paths with a grizzly bear — an encounter that almost cost him his life.
In a later interview, Jeremy recalled how he immediately reached for his bear spray tucked inside his backpack. Before he could get it out, however, the cub’s mother emerged, ready to protect her young.
Panicked and desperate, Jeremy hurled his bicycle at the bear in an attempt to scare her off. The effort made contact but left him with deep wounds in his hand from the struggle.
But before he could climb to safety, the mother bear latched onto his right leg, dragging him down. He recalled the horrific moment to the Daily Mail, saying: “My left eye was hanging out of the socket. It was facing down. In order to really see, I either had to lift up my eye or lean my head way back.”
Once the bear eventually left, Jeremy collapsed to the ground, his body torn apart. Nearly blinded by his injuries, he forced himself to crawl through the thick woods until he located his backpack and firearm.
On the ground, he found gruesome reminders of the attack — his moustache, part of his goatee, a section of his face, and even his ear, all torn away by the bear’s assault.
“Whoever finds this please let my wife know I tried to make it,” one heartbreaking message read. “But there is [no] chance, that bear really [f***ed] me up.”
In another, he added: “I am pretty sure this is the end. I am very tired and I feel like I am going to pass out. If I do I won’t wake up.”
He developed severe PTSD in the aftermath and has spent years in therapy, trying to recover mentally from the nightmare that changed his life forever.
