Two college wrestlers, both sophomores at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, were severely injured after a surprise confrontation with a grizzly bear. Brady Lowry and Kendell Cummings, both from Utah, were shed antler hunting with their teammates, August Harrison and Orrin Jackson, in Shoshone National Forest in Cody, Wyoming. According to Fox News, the Utah pair separated from the group to hike higher ground when they found what they believed to be bear scat. The grizzly suddenly attacked Lowry before anyone could deploy their bear spray. He told KSL-TV, "I saw bear crap all over, and I looked at Kenny [Kendell Cummings] and said, 'There is a grizzly bear here.' And right after I said that, the bear came out of the willows. It was thick. It came at me and charged me and tackled me off this cliff into this gully and was going at me for a little bit."
Lowry had curled up in a ball during the attack, while Cummings started screaming at and grabbing the bear. Cummings told Cowboy State Daily, "I could hear when his teeth would hit my skull, I could feel when he'd bite down on my bones and they'd kind of crunch." While the bear chased Cummings, Lowry called 911 and yelled to Harrison and Jackson for help. Cummings told KSL-TV that when the bear was done attacking him, it just wandered off. Harrison told Fox News that he saw Cummings "drenched in blood coming down the hill everywhere," and he and Jackson took turns carrying Cummings to the bottom.
Park County Search and Rescue and Wyoming Game & Fish Department (WGFD) found the group, and Cummings was air-lifted to a hospital while Lowry was put on an ambulance to a local hospital. "With the assistance of a hunter in the area, a local resident and other members of their party, the two men were able to reach the trailhead where they met search and rescue and were transported from the area.," the WGFD said in a press release.
Lowry was bitten on the right thigh and suffered a broken arm that needed six screws and bolts, and both men ended up at a trauma center in Billings, Montana. They're expected to fully recover from the injuries, but will sit out from wrestling until then. Harrison and Jackson said that they will continue competing in upcoming tournaments. Cummings told Deseret News, "I didn't want to lose my friend. It was bad. There was big ol' bear on top of him. I could have run and potentially lost a friend, or get him off and save him."
Dan Smith, Cody Region wildlife supervisor, said six to 10 bears are moving between agricultural fields and low-elevation slopes, and an investigation is ongoing. "Game and Fish will continue to monitor bear activity in the area and work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make management decisions in the best interest of public safety," said Smith.
