Camping trip ends in terror for sleeping man who woke to find giant bear had bitten off his ear



Most people go camping to find peace and quiet in the wilderness.

Few expect to wake and discover their ear had been bitten off by a giant black bear, but that's exactly what happened to Rob Holmes.



The 24-year-old had been enjoying the great outdoors in Montana, US, with a friend when the bear struck.

Bear-ly hanging on: Rob Holmes talks about his ordeal, left, and displays his injury shortly after the attack, right



He recounted how he woke in the pitch black to find his blanket bloodied, his ear 'bouncing off' his neck and teeth marks all over his tent.

The curious animal was apparently searching for food - and mistook Holmes' ear for an early morning snack.

In a terrifying account, Holmes says he remembers feeling a tug on his ear as he slept in the small blue tent next to his pal Brandon Hurst.

But he failed to wake up even though the bear had ripped off a chunk of flesh.



Instead, his friend woke up and shined a torch on Holmes, to see the side of his head covered in blood.

'I felt something on my face,' Holmes told ABC News.

Site of terror: The tent in which Rob Holmes and a pal were sleeping when the bear struck

'I knew I'd been hurt but I didn't know how bad. Then when I looked at it and I'm like, "Oh".

'My ear was literally bouncing off my neck. So I knew it was messed up, but I couldn't feel (the pain.)



'I kept yelling and yelling and tried to get (the bear) further and further away,' he added.



The car mechanic bolted from the tent moments after the terrifying 4.30am attack, which took place at a campsite in St Regis.

No grudge: Miraculously, Rob holds no ill feeling towards the bear and will carry on camping in the wilderness

It wasn't me: A black bear (file photo)

He never saw the animal because it was too dark, but after examining his injuries and the scene, wildlife officials have determined it was the work of a black bear.

After an investigation they determined that the bear, a female, had become accustomed to raiding campsites for food.

So they tracked her down and euthanised her and her young cub, who would not have survived without its mother.



Holmes, who was on a fly-fishing holiday, was rushed to hospital in Missoula where he needed 21 stitches to reattach the bottom of his ear.

'It was the bottom quarter of the ear,' he said. 'It was just straight back, and it was kind of just dangling there.



'I was in so much shock about the whole thing, but it was just surreal.



'The whole time we were joking about it, saying "did that really just happen?".'

Doctors told Holmes that he is lucky to be alive.

But despite the ordeal, the plucky camper says it won't stop him camping in the mountains of Montana.



'It was just a bear doing what a bear does,' he said.

'I mean, I got a dog that puts his mouth on everything too because he's curious.'

His camping buddy Brandon added: 'I've never heard of anything like this happening.



'But really, it could happen to anyone. Lightning doesn't strike twice.



'It's not gonna change, we'll still go back out there.'