Mark Uptain, a hunting guide from Wyoming used bear spray to stop a grizzly that attacked him as he field dressed an elk for a client but it was too little, too late. The fatal mauling happened in mid-September of 2018 in the Teton Wilderness.
“Evidence suggests that when Uptain deployed the bear spray, it stopped the aggression, giving him time to escape,” as stated in a Wyoming Game and Fish report and printed in the Jackson Hole News & Guide. “However, this appears to be after the fatal injuries were inflicted.”
The report also indicates Uptain waived his arms and yelled at the two bears as they charged him and his client, who escaped with minor injuries. Wildlife managers later shot and killed the bears.
(Photo source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)