A report about a hunter is circulating the web as he allegedly shoved his arm into a grizzly bear's throat in the hopes to bring about a gag reflex that would somehow frighten the animal away according to state wildlife managers.
As reported in the Daily Mail, Chase Dellwo, 26, was hunting for elk in Montana Mountains. In his statement, he said that he fended off an attacking grizzly bear by shoving his arm down the animal's throat. He was reported to go hunting with his brother in the rugged foothills of the Rocky Mountains in north western Montana on Saturday morning.
He unexpectedly surprised a 400-pound or 180-kilo male grizzly walking along a creek according to Wildlife and Parks spokesman, Bruce Auchly. "It was startled, he was startled; the bear engaged in a defensive attack," he said on Monday.
Later on, Dellwo told the wardens that he shoved his arm horizontally into the bear's throat. He said that he had read this strategy in an article that says large animals have pronounced gag responses.
However, according to wildlife managers, they are not familiar with the article or the gag reflex strategy on the massive and hairy mammals even though this actually worked in Dellwo's case. Dellwo's remembered strategy made the bear break off its attack and move away, Auchly added.
Meanwhile, the wardens said that they do not intend to capture or kill the hairy animal as the attack was the result of protecting itself rather than looking for a predator. "If the grizzly wanted to kill him, it would have killed him," said Auchly.
Dellwo's brother drove him to a nearby clinic before being taken to a hospital in Great Falls where he remained admitted until Monday. Dellwo who came from Bellgrade, Montana suffered from injuries that include cuts to his head and face as reported by his wife in an interview with Reuters.
Wildlife managers advice visitors to carry bear spray to ward off attacks. Bears of around 1,000 are reported to roam around the northern Continental Divide in Montana. Dellwo was not equipped with the spray when the attacked happened. This might have prompted the hunter to use his hand down the bear's throat to save his life.
