From about 100 metres away, the hunter took aim at the bear, squeezed the trigger and fired.

Then he began to track the hulking animal, tramping through the snow in an area near Chain Lakes in southwest Alberta.

That’s when it was the bear’s turn to become the hunter.

Emerging from the snowstorm, the animal surprised the man, knocked him down, then started attacking.Brendan Cox, a spokesman with the Solicitor General, described the hunter’s remarkable Oct. 27 escape.

With the animal mauling his arm, the hunter managed to pull out his knife. Cox said, and stab the bear several times.

He walked away from the harrowing experience, leaving behind the bear’s carcass, got in his vehicle and drove himself to Nanton, where an ambulance took him to a Calgary hospital for treatment.

However, the hunter’s tale of survival isn’t over — he is now being investigated under the provincial wildlife act.

While he is licensed to hunt black bears, the animal he shot was a 200-pound female grizzly, said Cox.

The Alberta government suspended the grizzly hunt in 2006 and declared them a threatened species in 2010.

“We do encourage hunters to make sure they do their due diligence before shooting anything, so they’re certain they’re aiming at the species they intend to be aiming at,” said Cox.

“There have been cases of mistaken identity in the past. It is under investigation. We don’t know whether charges will be laid against this hunter or not at this point in time.”

The hunter faces a maximum penalty of $100,000 and two years in jail.

Staff at the Nanton Flying J said the hunter arrived the truck stop Sunday wounded and dazed. A staff member called an ambulance, which transported him to hospital.

“I just want to forget about it, forget it ever happened,” the hunter told the Nanton News this week.

jkomarnicki@calgaryherald.com