A Canadian mother who was attacked by a grizzly bear while jogging said her two-year-old daughter was her inspiration to survive.
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Vanessa Chaput, 24, said.
The Yukon native was jogging on a paved trail between Haines Junction and Pine Lake Campground in Ontario with her German shepherd, Luna, about 10.30pm on June 30.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 
Chaput said she is familiar with the trail, which runs beside a highway near residential homes.
The sun had only recently set so, when she rounded a corner, she clearly saw the trouble ahead.
The young mother was face-to-face with three bears.
“I spotted the male that would attack me first … and two smaller bears about 10 feet away from me,” she said.
“There was also a fourth, smaller bear right behind me which I didn’t see.”
Chaput backed away, tugging on Luna’s short leash — but her dog, whose bark often scares away bears that wander into Chaput’s Haines Junction yard, went on the defence.
Luna ripped away from Chaput and chased the two smaller bears away, leaving Chaput alone with the male bear.
It is unclear where the bear behind Chaput was at that point.
As Chaput continued walking backward, the larger bear charged in her direction.
“I picked a tree to get behind but the bear took me down … it took my head in its mouth and I ended up on the ground,” she said.
Chaput and the bear struggled on the ground.
“You feel like a rag doll and there’s nothing you can do,” she said.
“I remember being thrown around.”
Chaput said she didn’t scream or feel a specific sensation of pain.
“My adrenaline was going … there was an insane amount of pressure,” she said.
“I have a pretty (high) pain tolerance.”
The bear’s claws wrapped around Chaput’s body, piercing her skin near her spine and scratching her thighs. It also bit Chaput’s arm.
But she thought to herself: “I’m not ready to leave my daughter and my husband.”
“(I just) went into survival mode,” she said.
The approximately five-minute attack ended when the bear suddenly let go of her head and ran a short distance away, Chaput said.
She attributes that saving grace to her hair clip exploding in the bear’s mouth or the startling snap of branches beneath her.
Chaput would later feel pieces of branch lodged in her throat, which she expelled on her own.
She cowered behind a tree and made herself as small and still as possible because the bear wasn’t done.
“He charged across the path … and turned around and came back at me,” she said.
“I didn’t think I could handle another round.”
Chaput said she suddenly heard Luna barking from a distance, and the bear slapped the ground with its paw and took off toward the sound of Luna’s barking.
“Her barking saved my life,” Chaput said.
Chaput slowly made her way to the Alaska Hwy, where she was reunited with an unharmed Luna.
She used her Apple Watch to call her husband, Dave Leegstra, and 911.
She was hospitalised for 10 days, receiving more than 30 stitches on her head, her back, her arm and her ear.
Chaput also had a broken arm, which is still in a cast, and said she lost blood but did not need a transfusion.
Eight days later, she reunited with her daughter.
Leegstra told their daughter that “Mummy had an ow-ie”.
The Yukon Conservation Officer Services confirmed via its Facebook page that officers responded to a report of a serious bear incident on the Trans Canada Trail connecting Pine Lake to Haines Junction about 10.30pm on June 30.
Luna triggered “a defensive reaction” from the bear, officers said.
“The bear attacked the individual resulting in significant injuries requiring medical attention,” they said.
“It is believed the dog also caused the bear to break off the attack, providing the individual opportunity to retreat and call for help.”
A conservation officer responded and “euthanised a bear that was present at the exact location of the attack”, Yukon Conservation Officer Services said.
“The officer received follow-up information that multiple bears were involved.
“In the interest of public safety, the nearby campground was evacuated and closed.
“Three additional bears matching the description were located in the area and two were euthanised.
“Efforts are still being made to recover the fourth bear.”
Officials are conducting necropsies on the bears, which have “a mixed composition of ages and sexes”.
“DNA samples from the bears as well as forensic samples from the scene will be provided to a lab in Alberta to help identify the bear that attacked the person,” Yukon Conservation Officer Services said.
“The necropsy and tests will help confirm group dynamics between the bears and whether they are related, in breeding condition and other genetic factors.”
The government of Yukon referred media to a tip sheet on how to behave around bears, including when bears are aware — and unaware — of the presence of humans.
“Bear encounters rarely result in an attack,” it said. “Remaining calm is the most important thing to do.”
Chaput is not ready to hit the running trail again, but she recently revisited the scene of the attack with an armed conservation officer and her family — including Luna — to help sort her emotions about the attack.
“I am very shocked at how lucky I am,” Chaput said.
“I’m extremely thankful that God was watching over me that day.”