Man Survives Grizzly Attack by Shoving Arm Down Bear's Throat

A hunter in Montana survived a grizzly attack by shoving his arm down the bear’s throat on October 3.

Chase Dellwo and his brother were stalking a herd of elk northwest of Choteau on Saturday when Chase passed within a meter of a sleeping grizzly, which proceeded to maul him. The bear pounced on Dellwo and bit down on his head and legs, finally tossing Chase into the air.

As the bear prepared to make another charge, Dellwo said, he remembered an article his grandmother had once given him that said, “large animals have bad gag reflexes.

“So I shoved my right arm down his throat,” he told the Great Falls Tribune. The article’s advice worked and the animal fled.

Dellwo’s brother drove him to the hospital, where he received treatment for minor puncture wounds to his legs, as well as stitches and staples in his head and face.

“I want everyone to know it wasn’t the bear’s fault. He was as scared as I was,” Dellwo told the Great Falls Tribune.