A Walla Walla man is thankful to be alive after surviving a bear attack while hunting in a remote part of northern Alaska last week.
A Walla Walla man is thankful to be alive after surviving a bear attack while hunting in a remote part of northern Alaska last week.
Jadon Nicoara was hunting with his cousin, Daniel, about 100 miles southwest of Deadhorse near the Colville River last Thursday morning when a bear suddenly charged out of the bushes toward him.
"I turned around, and there's a bear just charging straight up, like 15 feet away, and his mouth was open," Nicoara said. "It was roaring, and I didn't have any time."
The pair had been hunting in higher country, thinking bears would be less of a concern there. Instead, they came face to face with one.
"It was chewing on my face, and I could hear the bones snapping in my nose, and I started seeing stars," Nicoara said. "I was like, okay, this is where it ends. I was just waiting like, how's it going to be to just step over the line from being alive to being in heaven?"
Jadon Nicoara was hunting with his cousin, Daniel, about 100 miles southwest of Deadhorse near the Colville River last Thursday morning when a bear suddenly charged out of the bushes toward him. (Courtesy: Jadon Nicoara)Daniel quickly pulled out a gun to try to scare the bear off, but it turned its attention to him instead.
"That's like one of the most sinking feelings ever. When I was shooting at it, and all of a sudden they whipped around, and it looked at me and was like, 'wait a minute,'" Daniel said. "So he charged me, and I emptied the rest of my magazine as he was charging."
"Then either he knocked it the gun out of my hand, or it fell out of my hand when he tackled me," he added. "But at that point, I was like, I just got to get face down, put your hands over your neck like they teach you with bears, and play dead and not let him flip me over."
The bear eventually left the area. Daniel, who is a doctor, was able to get Jadon's bleeding under control.
"I pulled out my phone and filmed a short video for my wife and my girls, because I thought I wasn't going to make it," Jadon said. "I was bleeding really bad."
Jadon Nicoara was hunting with his cousin, Daniel, about 100 miles southwest of Deadhorse near the Colville River last Thursday morning when a bear suddenly charged out of the bushes toward him. (Courtesy: Jadon Nicoara)The two hiked about half a mile to a spot where they could send an SOS call on their satellite phone. Jadon was flown to Deadhorse, then Anchorage, then Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment, while Daniel was treated in Anchorage for less severe injuries to his arm and backside.
Throughout his recovery and as he reflects on the attack and his survival, Jadon tells KOMO News he's been focused on two Bible verses: "Psalm 23:4: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" and "Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
"I feel like we experienced those mercies that morning too, which kept us safe and brought us back to our families alive," he said.
Jadon faces several more surgeries but is now back home recovering with his family by his side.
"I'm just very thankful," he said. "It was like just a miracle that God spared our lives."
Neither Jadon nor Daniel is sure if the bear was injured by gunfire or where it went after the attack. Officials with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said an aircraft went to search the area for the bear but was unable to locate it.
