Hunt continues for bear that attacked man near Yosemite National Park

Yepez says he stepped outside of his home Thursday morning at 4 a.m., only to be confronted by a giant bear just 10 feet away. “I felt like a little rag doll underneath him”, Yepez told CNN affiliate KGPE.

Yepez said in the TV interview that he yelled at the bear and hit it with a plastic tub to try to get it off his porch.

Yepez says the bear jumped on him and knocked him down. “He ripped towards my neck and then again the belly”, Yepez recalled while pointing to his injured body parts.

Even while terrified his military instincts told him “you’ve got to fight”.

“When I walked in, I was just covered in blood all over me”, he said. The bear apparently took off in a different direction. He said he could hear “the crunching” as the bear tore into his flesh.

Yepez was fighting for his life against the bear.

He sustained lacerations and puncture wounds to his face, legs, arms, abdomen, hands and feet, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “He is a Vietnam veteran and is used to defending himself in situations”. And they go, ‘Oh my God.

Not one to be modest, Yepez, who is Native American, has christened himself “Man Who Fights With Bears, And Wins”.

“They tell you to remove the word “can’t” from your vocabulary”. He returned home Saturday after being treated by hospital staff. The pain was bad the next day, but he said he’s lived through worse. Yepez received the Purple Heart due to his injuries while in Vietnam.

Wildlife official Lt. Chris Stoots said attacks like this are not common, but bear sightings have been more frequent in the last few weeks due to the drought that has been driving animals to residential areas in the hunt for food and water, the Fresno Bee reports.

Following the attack, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to local residents to keep an eye out for the bear.