27-year-old Nicolas Hohls had been resting inside his tent at Cape Vidal Nature Reserve in St. Lucia, South Africa, when the animals crept into the camp.
He was there celebrating with his father and several close friends as part of the bachelor party trip.
But not long after, about half an hour later, trouble struck.
Two hyenas pushed their way into Hohls’ tent through a small six-inch gap in the zipper he had left open for air.
“One went for my leg and the other for my face and head. I fought them off by ripping my face and ankle free, then attacking the eyes of one and forcing my hand down the throat of the other,” Hohls told PEOPLE.
Hohls explained that his reaction came instantly, describing the two key moves he made that ended up saving his life.
“I reacted immediately. I ripped myself free and went straight for their weak points — the eyes and throat. It was all instinct and adrenaline,” he said.
“My dad jumped into action immediately. He found me in a pool of blood in my tent, put me in the car, and drove me straight to Ballito hospital,” he added.
“I’ve camped at Vidal before without problems. That night I left a small gap for ventilation. If the hyenas wanted to get in, they would have found a way regardless, and that’s exactly what happened.”
“I’m doing a lot better… The doctors are happy with my progress, and there’s been no sign of infection,” he explained.
“For now, it’s about rest and allowing my body to heal properly.”
“A second hyena grabbed him by his head so Nick stuck his left hand into the first hyena’s mouth as deep as it would go and his right thumb in the other hyena’s eye.”
“Nic said they both backed off in shock and then they heard me coming and must have seen the torch and disappeared and when I got there. I never even saw them.”
A spokesman for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, which manages Cape Vidal, spoke to DailyMail.com, stressing: “We are going to catch the hyenas and work out the best way to proceed with them but in the mean time we ask all campers to make sure their tents are zipped up.”
“In the incident at the weekend hyenas attacked a visitor after they had left their tent open following a party and in the previous attack a man nose was badly bitten.”
