Welcome back to Scary Bear Attacks! Today’s episode takes us to the east side of the world-renowned
YellowStone National Park which straddles the borders of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
YSNP features some of the most well preserved natural ecosystems remaining in the modern
world. The area is crowded with Bison, moose, black and brown bear, wolves and cougar, not
to mention the plentiful deer, elk and antelope. Each of these species offer their own degree
of beauty and danger. Brian Matayoshi, from Torrence, California,
was 57 years old and had recently retired as a pharmacist. Brian and his wife Marylyn
were on their 4th visit to YSNP and about half way through their planned 3 week trip.
The date was July 6th of 2011 and the time was around 11 AM. The couple was approximately
1.5 km down the Wapiti Lake Trail. They encountered a fellow hiker who allowed them to use his
binoculars to view a sow grizzly and her two cubs from about 500 yards, an appropriate
distance to view such dangerous predators. The couple had never spotted a bear in their
previous visits so this was a special treat for them. They took photos and continued down
the trail. They had no idea that the bears they just photographed would be only 20 minutes
from an appointment with destiny which would change each of their lives.
The pair traveled down the trail about ¼ of a mile when they were fogged with a swarm
of mosquitoes and decided to turn back the way they came. As they approached the area
they previously saw the sow and cubs, they noticed the trio of bears was now a mere 100
yards from the trail they were on. Brian and Marylyn navigated a dense stand of lodgepole
pine only to emerge just across from a grassy meadow from the bears.
The sow bear, now in protection mode, trotted toward the couple, inducing instant panic.
Brian turned to Marylyn and yelled “run!”. They had no bear spray nor a firearm to fall
back on, so they immediately began running away and yelling as the sow and cubs pursued
out of curiosity, or potentially another motive. As Brian and Marylyn entered the trailhead,
they had passed signs warning of bear activity in the area and reminding hikers and photographers
to lay down and play dead if involved in a confrontation with a bear and to use bear
spray as a last resort. Now, the sow was closing in on them and they had forgotten any instruction
as they were convinced that they were in extreme danger.
Most people consciously know that they cannot outrun a bear, but once fear dominates the
mind, options become limited and panic prevails. The sow caught Brian about 270 yards into
the pursuit and tackled him to the ground. Marylyn hid behind a fallen tree and tried
to envision herself anywhere else but where she was. She lifted her head just in time
to see the bear punch Brian in the head and knock him down again. Witnesses a few hundred
yards away indicated Brian made animal sounds while being attacked, possibly in an attempt
to frighten the bear, or in mimicry of his attacker. The cubs were reportedly growling
as they watched their mom bite and claw Brian, according to Marylyn. The sow spent a few
minutes biting and clawing Brian's body as he fought her attack fruitlessly before Marylyn
rose to her knees to adjust her camera position. She had laid on it as she collapsed behind
the log and was now moving it from protruding into her side.
The sow trotted over to Marylyn, who had begun to play dead by falling face first onto the
ground. The sow picked Marylyn up by her backpack and slammed her into the ground to see if
there was a reaction. The woman remained still and the sow broke off the attack. It seemed
as if the bear had to impart a final bit of intimidation to the woman before feeling confident
enough to leave safely with her cubs. Marylyn quickly ran to Brian's side and improvised
a tourniquet to Brian's wounded knee, from a jacket. Brian released one last deep breath
and was still. His life had ebbed as she tried to save him. He was motionless and unresponsive
when a hiker in the area, who was a trauma surgeon, called 911. He was positioned just
a few hundred yards away and somehow managed to get signal enough for the call, while Marylyns
21 attempts failed. Authorities declined to perform an autopsy
on Brian as his fatal injuries were obvious. He had a large gash and hematoma on his forehead
from the blunt force trauma of the bear's punch. His femoral artery was also severed
from the bit on his knee causing rapid insanguination. The park authorities concluded the uncollored
and untagged sow was acting defensively and had no previous acts of aggression toward
humans, so they would not euthanize her nor her cubs.
The YSNP area is reported to be home to about 600 grizzly bears. The aggravating conditions
regarding this incident included a deeper than normal snowpack which forced the bears
into lower elevations for browse as well as pushing brown bears out of YSNP into lower
elevations surrounding the park. This incident resulted in the first bear attack fatality
in YSNP in 25 years.