This Saturday, November 20, a hunter killed a bear who attacked him in Ariège, above the village of Seix. The man, seriously injured in the legs in the skirmish, was transferred to the Purpan hospital in Toulouse. His days are no longer in danger, but the road to recovery is still long. The Dispatch managed to get in touch with the son of the victim, who returns to this impressive face-to-face.
Back to a tragic confrontation. This Monday, La Dépêche du Midi came into contact with the hunter’s son who was injured by a bear in the valley of estours, in Ariège, above the village of Seix. The man, who, under conditions which remain to be established by the investigation, would have slaughtered the animal, is still hospitalized in Purpan. “I saw him yesterday, for the moment he is doing well, he is very tired because the injuries are not trivial, both legs are affected, testifies the Toulousain. As he was able to tell the gendarmes, he saved his life and that is the most important. Now his goal is to save his legs. It will be a long time, he left for eight weeks of immobilization. “
Our interlocutor knows that his father owes his life to the intervention of a volunteer female firefighter. “He was extremely lucky, she was part of the hunting team and was there at the right time. She did a lot and I had the opportunity to thank her, because without her I don’t think I would. would not have my father next to me today. “
“The survival instinct has taken over”
The victim was not new to the practice of this activity but had never crossed paths with a bear before. “He saw ‘brown spots’, he had his gun loaded, but he was waiting to know which beast was 40 yards away from him. And when he saw the little round ears, he told me he had was amazed and he did not expect, just turning around, to see the mother standing behind him. After the survival instinct took over the pain. This is what allowed him to save himself Nevertheless.”
From his hospital bed, the septuagenarian now thinks about the future. “What worries him the most is to know if he will be able to go back for hikes with his little daughters, this is his primary concern today, because he is more of a hiker and a mushroom picker. than a hunter. ” This activity kept him busy for a few months in the year: “He hunted for leisure and only shot when needed. He used ten cartridges a year, we are really not on everything we need. can hear on the hunters who shoot at all costs … You have to be patient and see how all this will heal. It will take a long time, we have been told, we will take care of him. “