Jim Cole spent last Wednesday morning in Yellowstone National Park's Hayden Valley hoping to photograph grizzly bears he'd seen from afar earlier in the week.
But after hiking several miles in, he'd come up empty and never even unpacked his camera.
Walking back to the road, Cole was on a ridge looking to his left and then, from the right, saw a large grizzly about 20 feet away, barreling toward him. Before he could unsnap his bear spray, the bear knocked him over, tearing at his face.
The attack lasted about 15 seconds. The bear ran off and Cole, badly injured, nearly blind and afraid he'd die, began a grueling march back to the road, where visitors found him and medical crews prepared him for a trip to an Idaho hospital.
Those are some of the details Cole's longtime friend, Michael Sanders of Livingston, said he gleaned during a weekend trip to Idaho Falls, where Cole is hospitalized at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
"He said this bear came out of nowhere and attacked him," Sanders said. "He was caught completely off guard."
Cole, a Bozeman photographer and author, has been criticized for getting too close to wildlife in the past in pursuit of photos - he was charged but acquitted in Yellowstone in 2005 - and "probably agrees with that to a certain degree," Sanders said.
"But that was not the case this time," Sanders said Tuesday. "He didn't see anything and then boom, all of the sudden there's this bear."
Cole, 57, was listed in fair condition Tuesday at the hospital. He has declined requests for media interviews.
The Park Service is investigating the incident. Officials have said they have no plans to find the bear involved in the attack.
Sanders said his friend was in good spirits on Monday, but he faces an extended medical recovery.
"This is going to be a long, long, long road," Sanders said.
Cole's memories of the grizzly attack, the first on a person in Yellowstone since September 2005, are slowly returning, and friends visiting him in the hospital have been trying to piece together what happened.
Sanders said Cole left for the Trout Creek area of Hayden Valley around 6:30 or 7 a.m. last Wednesday. A day or two earlier he had seen grizzlies there with a spotting scope.
Unable to find any bears, he turned east and started heading back to his van with plans to drive to Mary Bay.
He and the bear startled each other somewhere between the end of Trout Creek and Alum Creek, Sanders said.
The grizzly attacked Cole's head and face, damaging him badly, before running off. Initially, Cole said he thought there were one or two cubs in the area, but now he's not sure, Sanders said.
The attack happened so fast Cole could only say it was a large grizzly but didn't know what color it was or if it had any particular markings.
"As quickly as it happened the bear was gone," Sanders said. "He had to get out or die, basically."
Cole knew he was in bad shape - he had to hold his face to keep it near his head - but, determined to see family and friends again, began walking out, Sanders said.
With his sight essentially gone, Cole followed the sunlight toward the road in Hayden Valley, falling over rocks and sagebrush and crossing creeks, his friend said. Finally, probably after several hours and two to three miles of hiking, he heard visitors on the roadside. Some screamed when they saw him approach, Sanders said. Cole collapsed, awaking later in the intensive care unit at the Idaho hospital.
The damage to his face was extensive, including his left eye that was knocked out and damage to facial bones and skin. A doctor said he couldn't find any puncture wounds indicating bites but that the damage was done by claws of a "very strong bear," Sanders said.
His vision is "poor to none" at this point, he said, and his face is still swollen after surgery last week.
"He's a patchwork quilt for now," he said.
Cole, the author of books on grizzlies in Alaska, Montana and Wyoming, is aware that he has been criticized in the past but is hoping that last week's attack doesn't color people's perceptions of Yellowstone.
"He said earlier he made mistakes in the past and wants people to know that Yellowstone is a safe place to be," Sanders said.
He's expected to be in the hospital for several more weeks.
"Under the circumstances, he has come through this incredibly well," Sanders said. "He's a very lucky man, no doubt about it."
Published on Wednesday, May 30, 2007. Last modified on 5/30/2007 at 12:27 am
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Maybe now he will leave those bears alone so they can live their lives in peace. now, I suppose Fish and Game will transplant the bear somewhere else or have it destroyed. What a waste!!
Is it worth blindness and a torn up face and head to get that photo? Is it worth putting that grizzlies life on the line, as well? I really hope this puts things in perspective for this guy. We don't want a Grizzly Man in Yellowstone.
As with that recent case in Alaska, I have more sympathy for the bear than the "victim" here. This is another Darwin Award. Hint: Grizzly Bears are dangerous. This shouldn't have to be re-discovered every year. It's been public knowledge since the publication of Lewis & Clarks' journals 200 years ago! Wait, no one reads books anymore. I'm sure there are plenty of on-line versions, but who wants to read such "old" material? We've learned so much since then, haven't we? Well, it sure doesn't look like it. Of course, so much of what is "learned" these days comes right from TV. Shows like "Grizzly Adams" and "Gentle Ben" portray these animals as having a potential to be friendly if you simply be nice to them, thus giving young impressionable minds that that's how bears really are. That's a nice warm fuzzy sentiment until you enter the bears' environment, wandering around THEIR piece of the planet, and you stumble around until you are maybe within 100 feet of a bear cub, and Mama bear sees, smells or hears you. Suddenly she's slapping you around, and the lights go out. That's REALITY hitting you right in your face! If you go looking for something dangerous, odds are it'll find you first. This guy is actually lucky to be alive. He will have those scars forever. By the way, Marty Stouffer uses BIG telephoto lenses. NO picture is worth a thousand stitches.
Geez By expositor, anything else you would like to add to that comment? This has nothing to do with reading books. Get a clue.
The guy messed up, got attacked, end of story. Next time maybe he will think twice before doing this again. MAYBE!!
Unless one assumes this guy is lying, all he was doing was hiking in an area he knew grizzlies might share. Even if the guy has been irresponsible in the past, what he claims happened here could happen to anyone hiking almost anywhere in the Park or neighboring wilderness. If you don't want to take the risk you should stay home. Thousands of people hike around in bear country, and statistically this is a rare occurrance. So far this year - Bears=1 Tourists=0
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