Walla Walla man survives bear attack in Alaska after it shreds his face, hands, and feet

Two men, including a 27-year-old man from Walla Walla, survived a bear attack during a hunting trip in Alaska late last month.

Four days into a hunting trip for caribou, a brown bear attacked Jadon Nicoara approximately 100 miles outside of Deadhorse, also known as Prudhoe Bay, in Alaska. The bear ran at full speed toward him after appearing from a bush and bit his face before biting his hands and feet. Nicoara’s hunting partner, his cousin, distracted the bear by firing shots at it with a handgun.

“I just felt it bite my arm, and it was very surreal because everything happens so fast,” Nicoara said, according to KBTX3. “Then, it finally ended up on top of me, and it bit my face. It was just biting again and again, and I could hear all the bones crunching in my nose. I saw stars, and I was like, ‘OK, this is kind of where it ends.’ I thought I was going to be dead.”

His cousin started firing shots at the bear with a handgun, causing the animal to pivot its attack. The bear hit the cousin and started to bite his legs before Nicoara fired shots from his own gun, scaring off the bear for good.

“My foot was crushed, and I couldn’t see very well because my nose was hanging down a little bit and this eye too was like covered by a flap of skin,” Nicoara said, according to KIRO 7. “My nose is … like all of the bones are shattered and all around my eye sockets, too.”

Photos of the gruesome attack can be seen here, but viewer discretion is advised as some of the images may be disturbing for some readers.

Despite suffering severe injuries, Nicoara, a father of two girls — a 3-year-old and 7-month-old — shared that he is extremely grateful for surviving the attack. He did not lose any limbs or his eyesight in the attack.

They were both transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle by helicopter for emergency treatment after initially being airlifted to a hospital in Anchorage. As of Wednesday, Nicoara is recovering at home, but is scheduled to undergo facial reconstruction surgery soon. His cousin is also expected to make a full recovery after being released from the hospital.

“I’ve been listening to some of the Psalms in the Bible, and Psalm 23:4 stuck out to me,” Nicoara said, according to KBTX3. “It says, ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.'”

Bear attacks of this nature are extremely rare, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, but surviving one is even rarer.

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