Kendell Cummings, a wrestler for Northwest College in Wyoming, had to defend his teammate Brad Lowry when he was attacked by a grizzly bear. The duo was touring the Shoshone National Forest.
According to a story by The Guardian, Lowry was injured in the first assault. This happened when the two surprised a wild grizzly bear while looking for antlers shed by elk and deer. Lowry had a fractured arm and puncture wounds.
Lowry spoke to KSL-TV Monday in an interview from a hospital in Billings, Montana. He said,
“It shook me around and I didn’t know what to do. I curled up in a ball and it got me a few more times.”
Kendell Cummings, a fellow teammate of Lowry, screamed, kicked, and punched the bear in an effort to dissuade it from attacking Lowry. Cummings tried to tug at the animal’s hair as well. Cummings told the Deseret News,
“I didn’t want to lose my friend. It was bad. There was a big ol’ bear on top of him. I could have run and potentially lost a friend, or get him off and save him.”
“It tackled me, chewed me up a bit, and then when it was done it wandered off, and I started calling out for Brady to make sure he was alright.”
The bear fled after the first assault. However, it soon returned to attack Cummings again since he was already suffering grave wounds.
“The bear circled back around, and it got me again, chewed on me, and that’s when it got my head and cheek. And then, for whatever reason, it vanished once again.”
Lowry was able to make a 911 call as Cummings was raising himself off the ground by walking to a location with cellphone service. While Lowry was able to walk without assistance, two other teammates aided in bringing Cummings down the mountain. Both Lowry and Cummings were admitted to the Billings Clinic medical center, where Cummings had surgery for his wounds.