A 53-year-old man in Saanich, B.C., managed to drive to safety after a grizzly bear mauled his head and tossed him to the ground in the woods near Bella Coola, about 700 kilometres north of Vancouver…

“He came up from behind me and started gnawing at the back of my head. It just started ripping the scalp off the head,” Brent Case told CBC News.

“The pain was so excruciating that I don’t know why I didn’t yell or scream, but I just said, ‘I have to play dead.'”

Case dropped down in the fetal position and tried to hang on, but the adult grizzly ripped into his left arm, leaving ugly wounds.

The bear then went for his right arm and bit through the muscle, just missing a major artery, Case said.

“He’s eating my gristle and he’s gnawing on my head. I was saying, ‘He’s eating my brains. I can feel it.’ I know it’s happening and I said, ‘God! I hope it gets over soon'” he said.

The bear suddenly seemed to have enough and pushed him into the mud, still grunting and snorting, Case said…

His hands were so swollen and bloody, he could barely get his keys out of his pocket, said Case, an experienced outdoorsman.

“I knew that if I didn’t drive and have the fortitude to control things, I was going to die.”

Case then drove 25 agonizing kilometres to the closest town to seek help. He finally reached a gas station and asked the attendant to call for an ambulance.

Phew!

Thanks, K B