Man who survived grizzly bear attack explains how 'Baby Shark' song saved his life
Warning: This article contains discussions of attempted suicide and graphic details which some readers may find upsetting.
We bet you have the song in your head now (sorry!) but who knew that 'Baby Shark' could save a life?
As well as being an infuriatingly catchy tune, one man has the song to thank for helping him survive a grizzly bear attack.
It's the stuff of nightmares, being hunted down and mauled by a giant bear, but for Jeremy Evans, 39, it was a reality.
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The father was in the Rockies in Alberta, Canada, when the terrifying incident - which left him with horrific injuries - happened.
In August 2017, Jeremy had stopped to watch some sheep grazing on grassland, when he noticed a nearby cub, before hearing a branch snap and the 300lb grizzly bear appeared to come out of nowhere.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he explained: "She pulled her paw across my face from the bottom left hand corner, all the way towards the right side and removed my whole face in one swoop, my nose, my right ear, everything.
"She started chewing on the left back corner of my head like a dog gnawing on a bone. And then she just started ripping and tearing everything off."
Badly injured, he tried to take his own life with his rifle, but it failed to go off.
Jeremy lowered it to try again and it accidentally discharged, narrowly missing himself.
The fear made him decide to keep trying, but then he fell 200ft down into the bottom of a rocky creek.
It was then that Jeremy pulled his phone out in order to say goodbye to his family, convinced he wouldn't survive the terrifying ordeal.
He tried to sent texts to his wife, but there was no service so they didn't go through.
Deciding to listen to some music, Jeremy pressed shuffle and the first song that came on was 'Baby Shark'.
Just what you want to hear during your worst moments!
However, Jeremy says hearing the track gave him the will to live and a determination to survive, as it reminded him of his family and young daughter as she listened to the song before bedtime.
"I don't know if it was the song playing on repeat, or just thinking about [my wife and child], but I started to crawl up the drainage on the other side. I managed to crawl up and get back onto the trail," Jeremy previously told UNILAD.
He was able to make his way back up the bank to a nearby abandoned campsite, where he scrawled a note explaining what had happened as he tried to find a working phone or radio.
Jeremy made the agonising trek back to his car and somehow managed to drive to another resort.
He was eventually airlifted to hospital where the extent of his injuries was revealed.
Initially, Jeremy underwent two major surgeries, lasting 13 hours each as medics tried to save his face.
He went on to have five major surgeries plus another 15 minor procedures, as well as needing 1,000 sutures and 1,000 staples.
Jeremy recalled: "My left eye was hanging out of the socket. It was facing down. In order to really see, I either had to lift up my eye or lean my head way back... I remember feeling my face and nothing felt the same. My jaw was hanging down on the left side and all my teeth were exposed."
The father was left with PTSD after the attack, which he says is now set off by the sound of cracking ice or the scent of blood.
He is now hoping to raise $5 million to go towards PTSD research, and he has written a book called Mauled about his life-changing experience.
"When you set mini goals, you can achieve incredible things," he explained.
"Family comes first. [And] asking for psychiatric help is not a sign of weakness. It's a strength. I mean, guys are always supposed to be all tough and look after the family. But when you're not mentally fit, you can't do that. So ask for help."
Amazingly, Jeremy has been back to the same woods since and has even seen grizzly bears. He said he had a 'good feeling' that he'd survived and made it back.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
Topics: Animals, Canada, Mental Health
Jen Thomas