Hair Accessory Helps Woman Avoid Grizzly Bear Disaster

A Kaska woman was able to survive an attack from a grizzly bear with the help of an everyday hair accessory.

A grizzly bear living at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Montana, explores its enclosure. Animals living in the discovery center were either rescued from the wild while young or injured, or faced euthanization because they posed a danger to humans. / Trevor Hughes / USA TODAY NETWORK

A few weeks ago, Vanessa Chaput went out for a run with her dog close to Haines Junction, Yukon. It is something she and millions of people do regularly with their pets, but this trip was one she will never forget.

While on the run, Chaput and her dog were met by three grizzly bears. “I was right beside them and it was just too close,” she recalled in an interview with APTN News.

This is a situation where panic would set in for most people, but not for her. It is something Chaput had been prepared for since her youth. 

Given how much time she had spent with her father doing activities such as hunting, she quickly jumped into action.

“I have a really good respect for them,” she said of the apex predators, “just because growing up with my dad and everything. When you go hunting you’re in bear country, things are going to happen. And we have run into bears in the past.

“But I’ve never run into something like this before.”

Giving space to the grizzly bears was her first action. Unfortunately, that plan went awry when Luna, her dog, was released from the leash.

As Luna chased away two of the bears, a male was left with Chaput. The bear charged at her, and her survival instincts kicked in.

“When the bear had taken me down with my head in its mouth, my first thought was just kind of protect your vitals, so I went straight into the fetal position,” she said.

How does one survive such a perilous situation? Chaput credits a plastic hair clip she was wearing for saving her life. When it shattered in the bear’s mouth, she believed the grizzly was stunned, giving her a chance to escape.

“I was able to get in-between and the bear ran in-between the willows. I was watching him and he turned around and charged back at me.”

At that point, Luna’s barking was distracting the bear just enough to give Chaput time to get closer to the highway and seek help. Had she been alone, she isn’t sure she would not have lived to tell the tale.

“If it wasn’t for my dog barking, the bear was going to come finish the job,” Chaput said.

All things considered, Chaput came away very lucky as she lived through a grizzly bear attack. But, the recovery process did take some time, as weeks were spent in the hospital.

“I have puncture wounds all up in my arm. I have a broken bone,” she said. “I have a lot of nerve damage in that area and then my tricep was torn in two places.”

She wasn’t placing blame on anyone, as it was an unfortunate series of events that led up to the situation.

“I don’t blame the bears for what happened,” she said. “I don’t blame my dog or myself.

“It was wrong place at the wrong time. Again, it could have happened to anybody.”

Chaput hopes that this can be an experience for others to learn from in the future.