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Ranger Survives Vicious Grizzly Mauling, Drives Self to Hospital

A sow grizzly tore off part of this park ranger's scalp, half of his ear, and left him with several puncture wounds.

Not only did he somehow survive, but he managed to drive himself to the hospital.

"Suddenly I was just run over," Jordan Carbery said. "It felt like two football players tackling me. [The] next thing I realize is that the bear had my head in its mouth and was picking me up."

Carberry had gone outside of his home in Bella Coola, British Columbia, to investigate a noise. He spotted a couple of bear cubs in one of his cherry trees. Then he saw the mother bear.

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"I looked over to see a sow grizzly bear looking right at me and heading straight for me," he said.

Carbery recalled attempting to escape the situation, but wasn't fast enough.

"I instantly turned and tried to get back to the house," he said. "I was only 40 feet out of the house. All of a sudden I just got tackled from behind and sent flying."

Carbery did his best to fight the beast off of him.

"I kicked her in the face three times at least, and then I tried to hit her in the face in the snout," he said. "She was like a prize boxer. She was so fast."

Somehow he managed to make it back to his house. He had lost his phone during the attack and was unable to call for help, so he grabbed his car keys and made a dash for his vehicle. The bear was still there, and she charged him once more but didn't commit.

Once Carbery got to his car, he began driving to the hospital, still unsure of the extent of his injuries.

"I was mostly concerned with my abdomen because I thought she had split me open," he said. "I thought my guts were hanging out."

Glancing in the rearview mirror startled him.

"I was covered in blood," he said. "I had my arm over my belly, I'm changing gears and driving with my other arm and I'm saying to myself, 'Don't pass out, don't pass out.'"

He made it to the hospital, where he was transferred to Vancouver General Hospital with multiple injuries, including a torn scalp, a severed ear and several puncture wounds from the bear's canines.

Astonishingly, Carbery kept his sense of humor about the ordeal, posting photos of his injuries and several messages on facebook.

Officials indicated that the bear was clearly defending her cubs, so there's no plan to put the bear down. The decision pleased Carbery, who maintains that the bear was just behaving in a natural and predictable manner.

"It wasn't the bear's fault at all," he said. "It was me dropping my guard and walking out into a situation that was already charged."

Like what you see here? You can read more great images, and articles by David Smith at his Facebook page, Stumpjack Outdoors.

NEXT: GRIZZLY JUMPS IN RIVER AND CHASES KAYAKER

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