The Deadliest Bear Attacks In History

On July 25, 1976, naturalist Andy Stepniewski went on a day hike with his fiancée Barbara Chapman at Glacier National Park in British Columbia. According to the Vancouver Sun, the pair headed up on a trail to an area called Cougar Valley. Even though the trailhead was marked by signs warning about bears, the pair ignored it since almost every trail had warnings about bears. As they hiked, the pair made noise to alert bears; Chapman, for example, whistled.

Still, as they turned a corner they saw a mother grizzly bear with cubs charging right at them. The bear went for Stepniewski first, tearing off the top of his head, scalping him. After disabling him, the bear went for Chapman. She tried to fend it off by throwing her camera at it. That was the last Stepniewski saw of her as all went blank. He later stated, "I don't have a vision of her dying, and I'm thankful for that."

Stepniewski, injured, staggered a mile and half to the trailhead and a highway where a motorist rescued him. His injuries so damaged his brain that the right side of his body was rendered mainly useless, requiring extensive therapy. However, Stepniewski, nature lover that he was, remained a lifelong outdoorsman and became a notable naturalist after years of physical therapy to recover.

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