A dog walker who was attacked by an angry bear was forced to play dead after having her jaw cracked.
Renee Levow claims advice of "make yourself appear big and loud" backfired while walking her two German Shepherds, Kylie and Bones, in woodland near her home
She was out with the dogs in Frederick County, Maryland, US, when she encountered the 'angry' black bear.
As it chased and swatted at one of her pets, she tried to employ the widespread advice she had heard to "make yourself big and be loud" but the bear instead turned its attention on her.
She started to shout to try and scare it off, instead the beast charged her before clawing and biting her chest, leg and head.
The 55-year-old heard something crunch as the bear bit down on her skull and decided the only way to survive was to play dead, which finally caused the bear to let go.
After a heart-stopping 10 minutes on the ground, she mustered the courage to open her eyes and called for an ambulance after the bear vanished.
The home care provider has now shared shocking photos of her injuries from the attack, which happened in September 2020, to warn other hikers to be aware of their surroundings.
Renee said: "I walk every day and take the dogs out. It was just a normal day I thought.
"We were walking back towards the house and Kylie noticed or heard something so she went ahead of me and she and the bear met - she nipped at him and he swatted at her.
"But because I was doing what you're normally told to do at bears - to make yourself big and be loud - he thought I was more interesting so he focused on me.
"Kylie ran up the hill after the bear when he was running towards me and tried biting him in the rear but he didn't pay any attention to her.
"He stood in front of me after he charged the hill and I could see literally every detail - his face, his teeth, his claws - everything.
"After a few seconds he swatted me down and then bit my left leg twice just above my knee and then he tossed me to the side and continued to bite me.
"He bit my skull and the side of my face twice - the first bite on the left side of my face and head I heard my skull crunch and I thought I was going to die. That was an awful sound.
"Then he bit me again on the right side of my scalp, above my eye, severing the nerves.
"My only thought at that point was if I didn't want to get bitten anymore I needed to do something to try and get him to stop.
"The only thing I could think of was to play dead so I covered my head with my arms and rolled flat on the ground and played dead.
"He sniffed my ear and grumbled and then I didn't hear anything else. I didn't hear my dogs or the bear - no noise whatsoever.
"I didn't move. I layed there for ten minutes because I was petrified. It was really scary.
"Eventually when I got enough nerve I moved my hand down my body to get my phone and I called 911.
"The blood from my head was just pouring down my face, I was in a puddle of my own blood.
"It was all over my phone. I literally had to wipe my phone off so I could see it."
Once the adolescent bear, believed to be around two years old and weighing 200lbs, finally released Renee's head from his jaws she was able to call for help.
A local fire chief and paramedic arrived at the scene followed by an ambulance which rushed Renee to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown.
Doctor discovered she had suffered an orbital fracture and severed nerves above her right eye and open wounds on her scalp, face, chest and left leg.
She was airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore where she underwent a gruelling four hour operation to deep tissue wounds.
Renee was sent home after two days recovering in hospital before having a second procedure on her left leg to remove lumpy scar tissue from the bear's bites in April last year.
The home care provider has been left with scarring and permanent nerve damage from the attack and has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but feels lucky to have survived.
She said: "I don't know if the bear just assumed the threat was over and I wasn't worth his time anymore - I have no idea - but I'm thankful he went away.
"I feel very lucky because you don't survive a large animal attack like that - they are so strong and angry you can't win even if you tried. That little bear was angry."
Neither of Renee's dogs were injured and stayed by their owner's side as she waited for help to arrive.
She is now always armed with bear spray and warns others to be aware of their surroundings and prepared to defend themselves.
Renee said: "I was scared of walking my dogs again after it happened - I have PTSD.
"I went to therapy for that so I could walk past where it all happened. It took months to get enough nerve to do it.
"I'm still walking because I don't want that incident to define me or to let that animal win because if I don't try and get past it, it's going to win.
"I carry bear spray with me now and I highly recommend it to anyone that's walking or hiking and they just need to be very aware and alert.
"Make sure you're looking all around you because they're quiet - I didn't even hear the bear coming out of the woods."
