Canadian Mom Survives Harrowing Grizzly Bear Attack in Yukon Territory

A grizzly bear attacked a Canadian woman earlier this summer while she was jogging near a campground along the Alaska Highway in Yukon Territory. Vanessa Chaput survived the ordeal despite being pummeled to the ground, bitten, and scratched by the bear, TODAY reports. She credits her German shepherd Luna with saving her life by scaring the grizzly away before it could charge her a second time.

The attack occurred on June 30th at approximately 10:30 p.m., according to a Facebook post from Yukon Conservation Office Services. Chaput unexpectedly ran up on four grizzlies while jogging in the Pine Lake Campground near the town of Haines Junction where she lives. When her dog ripped its leash out her hand and took off toward two of the smaller bears, the largest grizzly in the group charged Chaput.

“I’m not ready to leave my daughter and my husband," Chaput recalled thinking, during an interview with TODAY, adding that she "went into survival mode" while the bear was mauling her.

Chaput told TODAY that she darted behind a tree right before the bear took her head in its jaws and knocked her to the ground. It clawed at her spine and thighs and bit down on her leg in an attack that lasted approximately five minutes. Then it clamped down on her head again before suddenly letting go and moving away.

The grizzly was about to charge Chaput once more when her German shepherd Luna began barking in the distance. The bear took off toward the sound of the barking dog, and Chaput beelined toward the nearby Alaska Highway. Somehow Luna escaped unharmed and met up Chaput near the side of the highway where the 24-year-old mother called her husband and dialed 911.

Yukon Conservation Officer Services credited the German shepherd with breaking off the attack and "providing [Chaput] opportunity to retreat and call for help." Chaput, who spent ten days in a local hospital recovering from the ordeal, told TODAY that Luna's timely barking undoubtedly saved her life. She also suspects that her plastic hair clip, which broke off in the bears mouth during the attack, may have caused the large predator to back away during the initial mauling.

A conservation officer returned to the attack site and euthanized the bear shortly after Chaput placed her 911 call. Officers then evacuated and closed the Pine Lake Campground before killing two more bears believed to be involved in the attack. "Efforts are still being made to recover the fourth bear," the agency wrote in its July 2 Facebook post. "Officers are monitoring the area and using a variety of tools, including helicopters and drones, to continue their search of the remaining animal."