The visibility was tough for two Idaho men bow hunting early Saturday morning near Gardiner, Montana. The sagebrush was 6 to 8 feet tall – like navigating a corn maze. Darkness had not completely lifted and it was snowing heavily in the country north of Yellowstone National Park. Upon hearing an elk bugle some 100 to 150 yards away, seasoned hunters Bob Legasa, of Hayden, and Greg Gibson, of Sandpoint, headed toward a prominent tree. They sought a clearing to spot the elk they had scouted the day before. Instead, they were met with the growl of a big grizzly bear cub. About 500 pounds of mother bear wasn’t far behind. Legasa estimates it was 2 to 3 seconds between the cub’s growl and the mother bear charging him. He thought the charge was a bluff, but after her second bound, “I realized it was the real deal,” he said. A roughly 500-pound grizzly bear attacked Bob Legasa, of Hayden, Idaho, on Saturday, October 13, 2018. (Courtesy) He did not have enough time to grab his bear spray or pistol, so he braced himself for the attack, putting out his hands to protect himself and keep her mouth away from his head. She grabbed his arm with her mouth and clawed his face. Legasa estimates he fought her another 2 to 3 seconds before Gibson deployed his bear spray. When Gibson sprayed, the bear let go of Legasa, reared up on her haunches. Now she saw Gibson as the threat, Legasa said. Gibson deployed the bear spray again, and the bear retreated. “I tried to grab my bear spray,” Legasa said. “I had blood in my eyes, I had bear spray in my eyes. Greg also had bear spray in his eyes because the wind blew it back.” Legasa’s gloved hands tried to take the safety off his can so he would be ready for a second attack, but when he took the safety off, he squeezed the trigger and shot himself. “If you touch the trigger, that’s enough to knock you off your feet,” Legasa said. For what Legasa and Gibson will both tell you was an agonizing 10 minutes, the men tried to clear the burning bear spray from their eyes with snow on the sagebrush, screaming to scare off the bear, which may or may not have been lurking nearby. “There was a moment where I thought I couldn’t see a damn thing and this could be it,” Legasa said. “Soon as I thought that, I thought, ‘You gotta fight for it. You gotta fight for this now, you gotta keep going.’” Finally, their sight returned. There were no bears. The men returned to their truck, about a 30-minute walk, and Gibson drove Legasa to Livingston. He then was driven to Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital, where he was treated for his wounds. On Monday, Legasa underwent surgery for a broken left arm. A roughly 500-pound grizzly bear attacked Bob Legasa, of Hayden, Idaho, on Saturday, October 13, 2018. (Courtesy) Legasa credits Gibson and the bear spray for saving his life. Gibson sees it differently. “He thinks I helped him, but I think he helped me, because the bear attacked him,” Gibson said, laughing. “It gave me the opportunity to help him … I’m just thankful that the two of us were there.” While Legasa thought the bear weighed about 500 pounds, Gibson thought she looked more like 300. “This was not a huge bear – it had a huge attitude,” Gibson said. “That’s just such a quick judgment, that was just my impression. It was on top of Bob, so I would go with his estimation.” The men had had some practice with bear spray not too long ago. Gibson, who works as a hunting guide, had recently made a bear spray demonstration video. “I mentioned a couple times to friends and family since the attack that creating the video just a few weeks ago definitely helped,” Gibson said. “We did multiple takes deploying it, and at least I had some experience with it.” Both are advocates of bear spray and believe it should be the first line of defense. Legasa said the attack will change the way he hunts in the future: From now on, he will have it on the front of his belt instead of the side. He also plans to stay away from sagebrush. Legasa, who learned to hunt from his father when he was 16, said he hopes the incident won’t change hunting for him. “At this point I’m not too traumatized by it,” he said. “To be honest, I’m not sure how it will affect me.” As for Gibson? He hunted in Sandpoint on Monday. “I was hunting pretty low in the mountains,” Gibson said. “Does lightning strike twice? I’m going to try to think of that when I go back in the woods.” Gibson is returning to Gardiner in less than two weeks as a guide. Neither man was surprised with the way the bear reacted. Just as they were, the bear was surprised, and on top of that, had offspring to defend. Neither believes the bear should be killed. “This bear did not seek out and come looking for me as far as being aggressive,” Legasa said. “We surprised her, she surprised us, she was protecting her cub, and she charged at me to protect it and the rest is history.” Legasa does think that the bear and her cub should be trapped and relocated for their own safety. Many opinions of the incident are being expressed on Legasa’s Facebook page. His post about the encounter has more than 7,000 likes and 14,000 shares. Many people wished him a speedy recovery, but some expressed anger that he was hunting at all. Legasa said he has been an advocate for the management of the grizzly population in the Montana and Wyoming areas. “These altercations are happening more and more because there are more grizzly bears,” he said. “Management needs to be taking control here.”<doc-sep>HELENA — A grizzly bear attacked an elk hunter who surprised the sow and her cub north of Yellowstone National Park, with the bear sinking her teeth into his arm and clawing his eye before another hunter drove her off, the victim recounted Monday. The mauling of Bob Legasa, 57, in the Gallatin National Forest on Saturday was at least the seventh bear attack on a human since May in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Legasa, awaiting his second surgery on Monday, told The Associated Press in a phone interview from his hospital room in Bozeman, Montana, that he and his hunting partner were moving toward some elk when he heard a growl. It was a 2-year-old cub and its mother about 12 yards away from the tree that he had just stepped away from. After the cub growled and moved aside, its mother charged, Legasa said. "I was hoping it was going to be a bluff charge, and halfway through I realized it was going to be the real deal," he said. The bow hunter from Hayden, Idaho, didn't have time to reach for his bear spray; he barely had time to raise his arms in front of his face. The grizzly bit his hand, leaving puncture wounds and breaking a bone in his forearm. The sow clawed at his eye, leaving a bloody gash across the bridge of his nose.<doc-sep>Bob Legasa was bow-hunting elk when he came upon the bear and her cub. COEUR D'ALENE — A roughly 500-pound grizzly bear attacked a Hayden, Idaho man, and the man lived to tell about it. The Coeur d'Alene Press reports the bear attacked Bob Legasa Saturday morning while Legasa and his hunting partner, Greg Gibson, were bow hunting elk south of Livingston, Montana. The pair spotted the grizzly and her 2-year-old cub about 12 yards away. The youngling reared up and growled, then made way for the mama bear to charge. Idaho man survives grizzly bear attack 1/5 2/5 3/5 4/5 5/5 1 / 5 Gibson doused the grizzly with bear spray, and she finally retreated.<doc-sep>COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A roughly 500-pound grizzly bear attacked a Hayden, Idaho, man, and the man lived to tell about it. The Coeur d'Alene Press reports the bear attacked Bob Legasa Saturday morning while Legasa and his hunting partner, Greg Gibson, were bow hunting elk south of Livingston, Montana.<doc-sep>
A grizzly bear sunk her teeth into an elk hunter's arm and clawed his eye on Saturday after he surprised the sow and her cub north of Yellowstone National Park, according to the victim. Bob Legasa, 57, and his hunting buddy were walking toward some elk in Livingston when he heard a cub growl. Shortly after, the cub's mother ran full speed in his direction. "I was hoping it was going to be a bluff charge, and halfway through I realized it was going to be the real deal," he said. He told the Coeur d'Alene Press that the bear weighed about 500 pounds. He said he braced for impact like a football player. The bear attempted to hug him and latched on to his arm. "I was knocked over on my butt and at that point I was kicking and screaming trying to move her away." His buddy sprayed at the bear with bear spray and inadvertently hit Legasa twice. "I had blood in my eyes and bear spray in my eyes and I couldn't see a damn thing," he said. "We were putting snow and water in our eyes, trying to get relief." The bear eventually relented. The bear's response was normal for a sow with a cub encountering a human at close range, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said in a statement Monday. Legasa asked that the bear not be put down. Legasa said the experience won't put him off hunting, a hobby since he was a teenager, but he said he will be more cautious in the future. "I'm always going to have my hunting partner close, and reposition where I carry my bear spray so I can grab it with both hands," he said. Legasa posted an update of his condition on Facebook. "All in all I am in good shape. My arm is screwed up a little and sore and the vision is good, I will be fine," he said in his post. The Associated Press contributed to this report.