College wrestler saves teammate from grizzly bear attack in Wyoming

Photo: National Park Service

CODY, Wyoming – On Saturday, October 15, two college wrestling teammates at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming were attacked by a grizzly bear while on a hike a few miles outside the town of Cody.

The encounter happened Saturday while the men were off a trail and searching for antlers shed by deer and elk in the forest southeast of Yellowstone National Park, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said.

Brady Lowry, of Cedar City, Utah, and Kendall Cummings, a Wyoming native, survived the attack, while both suffering serious injuries.

“I could hear when his teeth would hit my skull, I could feel when he’d bite down on my bones and they’d kind of crunch,” Cummings told Cowboy State Daily in an interview on Monday morning. The bear first attacked Lowry, but Cummings jumped on the bear to save his friend and teammate.

“I grabbed and yanked him hard by the ear,” said Cummings, a college sophomore. Cummings was able to capture the bear’s interest. With unexpected speed, the bear lunged at Cummings and swiftly knocked him to the ground.

The bear let go after only a short time in its grasp. Instead of focusing on his own wounds, Cummings worried that the bear might attack Lowry once more. He got up to check for his teammate, and that’s when the bear struck once more.

“I called out to Brady to make sure he was alright and I think the bear heard me,” Cummings said. “It kind of circled around and got me again.”

Cummings stated that he initially fought back against the bear, but it soon became clear that his efforts would be futile. In an effort to avoid a third confrontation, Cummings laid quiet for a short while after the bear eventually quit attacking.

Cummings said he rose and re-joined Lowry when it became apparent the bear had left. Five miles from where they started their climb at the Bobcat-Houlihan Trailhead, the bloodied men started their grueling descent of the mountain.

“I can’t even express how grateful I am for him,” Lowry said. “I don’t know what I’m going to pay him back, I don’t. I owe him everything.”

Both men have undergone multiple surgeries over the last couple days.

Cummings received 60 staples in his head and plastic surgery to address major lacerations to his face, major lacerations to his left arm and leg that doctors had to suture up, and stitches on his right hand and right leg.

Lowry suffered a broken arm and lacerations to his back, shoulders, right leg and thigh.

Lowry was scheduled to be released from the hospital Monday while Cummings is expected to be released later this week.

As the fall and winter seasons start setting in, it is important to be mindful whenever out in nature. Fall is mating season for a lot of animals, meaning animals are likely to act more aggressively.

The National Park Service set out a series of instructions should you have a bear encounter: if engaging with a black bear, that’s the time to get your hands up and appear big and be loud. Should the black bear charge, fight back with everything you have.

If you’re engaging with a grizzly bear, play dead while covering your head and neck with your hands. The goal is to not appear as a threat and hope that the bear will leave. If the bear leaves, stay on the ground for several minutes, ensuring the bear has left the area. Should a grizzly bear continue to attack, only then fight back with everything you have.

To learn more on how to deter a bear encounter, please follow this link.

KSL News did an exclusive interview with the men at the hospital regarding the grizzly attack.

“Me and Kenny would both be dead if it wasn’t all four of us… It was a team effort. We love each other. We’re going to be best friends for the rest of our lives because of this.”

More on the grizzly attack here: https://t.co/McOZoRRWhp pic.twitter.com/y1tkl8YZ0f

— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) October 18, 2022