Ear, nose and throat surgeon Bradley Johnson (pictured) was severely injured after being mauled by a bear on Sunday
A 48-year-old Minnesota man was mauled by a bear on Sunday afternoon while he was out hiking with friends near the Wyoming-Montana border.
Bradley David Johnson, who KARE11 reports is a respected ear nose and throat surgeon, suffered ‘severe injuries’ to his arm, shoulder and back after crossing paths with what were described as two grizzly bears in the Beartooth Mountains.
Johnson was with three friends at the time of the attack. While two of them raced off to find help, one stayed behind to take care of the surgeon.
The two friends reportedly told police Johnson had been mauled ‘by a grizzly bear’, though this has not yet been confirmed, The Star Tribune reported.
Pocahontas County Search And Rescue (PCSAR) and Guardian Flight were both able to quickly find Johnson, though medics were forced to hike a mile in from their chopper to reach him.
The team were able to stabilize Johnson’s injuries, and carry him to the helicopter, where he was raced to hospital in Billings, Montana.
Johnson was backpacking with three friends in the Beartooth mountains when he was attacked. While two of his friends left to find help, one stayed to look after him, and ended up trapped in the woods alone himself
Unfortunately, the man who stayed behind with Johnson could not fit on the chopper, and instead waited in the woods for hours for someone to come and get him, as the sun would soon set and he did not want to hike alone in the dark.
‘Because of the limited space on the helicopter, Guardian was forced to leave Johnson’s companion, Justin Reed, age 45 from Medina, Minnesota behind at Granite Lake,’ a statement from PCSAR read.
‘Night was approaching and Reed was unwilling to walk out in the dark, fearing he would become disoriented.’
At 7pm, a ground team from PSCAR and an officer from Wyoming Game and Fish set off to find Reed again and guide him out of the woods.
The mission took seven hours, and the group did not return until 2.15am on Monday.
A spokesperson for St Vincent’s Hospital told the Tribune Johnson was in a fair condition on Tuesday.
Johnson’s friends said the surgeon was attacked by grizzly bears, but the bear responsible has not been officially identified