18 True Stories of Hunters Who Became the Hunted

On July 3, 2018, rangers of the Sibuya Reserve in South Africa found what they described as the "remains" of people in a lion enclosure. The rangers also found an axe, wire cutters, a rifle, and other supplies, which led them to believe the people were rhino poachers.

While the exact number of poachers is not certain, the owner of the reserve, Nick Fox, said "at least three poachers entered," and once they were found, he said "Clearly, the poachers had walked into a pride of six lions and some, if not all had been killed."

Chase Dellwo was hunting a herd of elk with his brother in Montana when he accidentally stumbled upon a 350-400lb sleeping grizzly bear. When Dellwo attempted to get out of the area, the bear woke up and attacked him. 

The grizzly tackled the 26-year-old bow hunter, biting his head and leg, and throwing his body into the air. Dellwo remembered a story his grandmother once told him about big animals with bad reflexes, so he shoved his arm down the bear's throat when he came at him again. His actions worked, and the bear left. 

Dellwo survived the attack with just a few stitches. 

Bud Griffith of Central Kentucky was hunting turkeys on his farm for the first time when he was attacked by a bobcat from behind. The bobcat hit Griffith in the face, startling him. He told local media the 25-pound animal "jumped up on my left shoulder and hit me right across the face. It scared me so bad at first. I thought it was a coyote."

The attack prompted Griffith to shoot on instinct, killing the small bobcat. The hunter had plans to bring the animal to a taxidermist and display his kill in his home.

An 800-pound grizzly bear attacked two Alberta, Canada, hunters on an unlucky Friday in November 2015. Hunter Rick Hollingworth said the bear charged without warning, and was headed straight for his cousin. He quickly shot at the bear, but it didn't faze the giant animal.

Hollingworth described the attack to media, explaining, "On the last shot, he turned on me and I ducked out of the way, and the bear came around a tree and doubled back on us, on the dead run, but by then I didn't have any shells, I didn't have bullets left in my gun."

Anteaters have been the cause of two separate fatal attacks on hunters in Brazil. In 2012, a 47-year-old hunter was hunting with his two sons when they cornered the animal with a knife. The anteater stood up on its hind legs, grabbed the hunter, and injured his arms and legs. The man bled to death at the scene.