Bear attack survivor describes how he stayed calm while his face was ripped off
A man who had his face torn off by a grizzly bear has explained how he managed to survive the attack.
Wes Perkins, 65, was on a hunting trip with his friend Dan Stang and his pal's son Edward when they spotted a "nice size bear" on a hill in the distance and began tracking it.
However, as they tried to go up the hill towards the bear, they lost track of the animal which seemed to have disappeared.
They then found the bear's tracks and kept looking for the animal, hoping to find it.
But before they could hunt it, the bear emerged from a hole it had dug, just 70ft away from Mr Perkins.
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Mr Perkins said he had to dig debris from his own airway to stay alive (youtube.com/c/DonnieRosie)The bear quickly charged at Mr Perkins, a former fire chief for the city of Nome in Alaska, leaving him helpless.
A year after the attack in 2011, Mr Perkins said: "I only had time to say, 'Oh s***!' But I got [my] gun [halfway] off my back... When I turned around, the bear was that close. I had no time to do anything."
The bear then began to maul Mr Perkins, who lost his teeth, tongue and jaw in the attack, before Mr Stang and his son killed the bear.
Mr Perkins said he was aware of what was happening during the attack and kept his airway open to stay alive.
He added he told himself to stay away and avoid closing his eyes or go unconscious.
By the time he realised what was happening, the bear attacked him (youtube.com/c/DonnieRosie)He told Newsweek: "I basically kept my airway open and had to dig the debris out of my airway, when I lost my tongue, jaw and all but a few teeth.
"So telling myself to function and never close my eyes or go unconscious was the main concentration."
Talking to filmmaker Donnie Rose for a YouTube short documentary, Mr Perkins said he remembers all details of the attack.
He explained: "I never lost consciousness. I had to open my airways because I had a bunch of mud here - my face was all tore up - lost my teeth, my tongue, my jaw. And so I just stayed focused.
"I knew I could hear so I could talk to Ed and Dan who were with me."
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The grizzly bear was shot dead by Mr Stang (Stock photo) (Getty Images)Mr Stang said he immediately grabbed his gun and started shooting at the bear when he saw the animal on top of his friend.
He said: "I probably saved Wes' life and my son saved my life from the whole ordeal."
He said that when he rolled Mr Perkins over, he saw "his whole face rolled right off".
The victim's brother quickly responded to a call for help and contacted a rescue helicopter.
Mr Perkins was rushed back to nome and then to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
He spent four months in hospital, undergoing a number of operations to reconstruct his face.
Despite surviving the attack, he was left with permanent damage as he still has issues talking, eating and drinking.
He added: "I have helped others my whole life, and never imagined that I would be on the receiving end of things, but the brotherhood of Nome, my brothers in the fire service, from Seattle, Anchorage, Nome, came out to support and fundraise for me and helped me through this recovery."
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