An Oregon man managed to fight off a bear which attacked him after he shot it twice in two days for harassing his chickens and the bear was euthanized at the scene.
Craig Lankford is currently recovering after the dangerous incident which happened in La Grande on Wednesday morning.
He shot the large male adult black bear for the first time on Tuesday evening when he saw it was disturbing his animals and he went to look for it the next morning and saw it near his property.
Lankford shot it again which caused the animal to attack him and it had both of his arms in its jaws before he managed to get away.
The incident left him with cuts on his head and he suffered bite lacerations and hematomas on his forearms.
An Oregon man managed to fight off a bear which attacked him after he shot it twice in two days for harassing his chickens and the bear was euthanized at the scene
Craig Lankford, pictured with his wife Tina, is currently recovering after the dangerous incident which happened in La Grande on Wednesday morning
He shot the large male adult black bear for the first time on Tuesday evening when he saw it was disturbing his animals and he went to look for it the next morning and saw it again
Union County deputies responded to reports of a bear attack on Owsley Canyon Road at 7.30am and they immediately closed nearby roads for safety reasons.
Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) joined the search to find the black bear which had brown coloring.
And officials eventually found it near the site of the attack almost three hours later and a necropsy later found bullet fragments in the animal.
Lankford’s wife Tina provided an update on how he is doing after fighting off a bear and was thankful he is still alive.
‘We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love,’ she wrote. ‘He wrestled with a bear this morning and is actually still in the land of the living.
‘Not many people come in contact with a bear and live to tell about it, but Craig did. We are very grateful for his extensive knowledge of the outdoors because it saved his life today.
‘He has bear claw cuts on the top of his head and put both arms up in front of his face to protect his head.
‘The bear got Craig’s arms in his jaws, and Craig has some pretty gnarly bear bite lacerations and hematomas on his forearms.
He has bear claw cuts on the top of his head and put both arms up in front of his face to protect his head
Lankford’s wife Tina provided an update on how he is doing after fighting off a bear and was thankful he is still alive
‘Thank you so very much for your love and thoughts sent our way. It is appreciated.’
Lankford did not suffer tendon, nerve, or muscle damage following the attack.
ODFW watershed manager Jeff Yanke said: ‘We are grateful Mr. Lankford survived this encounter and wish him a smooth and speedy recovery.’
The wildlife agency warned that wounded bears can be more dangerous and in three other non-fatal incidents, bears attacked hunters who shot but did not kill them.
Attacks are rare but the OFDW said animals will attack if they are hurt, being fed by humans and lose their natural caution or if they are startled by people or their pets.
Black bears are native to Oregon where there are an estimated 30,000 living in the wild.
The state used to be home to grizzly bears but they went extinct in September 1931 after the last one was killed by a federal trapper.