You never know when something could be useful.
In the case of one Canadian mom, a hair clip proved to be her unlikely savior.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, 24-year-old family support worker Vanessa Chaput narrowly escaped a potentially fatal mauling by an eight-foot grizzly bear — she credited her hair clip for saving her life.
Her ordeal began when she encountered a group of four grizzlies while jogging on the Trans Canada Trail.
According the report, the situation escalated when her German Shepherd, Nina, chased after the female bears, provoking the male grizzly. The bear charged at Chaput and bit her forearm, then viciously clawed her back.
However, the attack was interrupted when the grizzly bit down on Chaput’s hair clip, causing it to shatter.
“He bit onto my head and I had a hair clip and it broke in its mouth and I don’t think he liked that so he let go of my head then ran across the path but then he stopped, turned around and started charging towards me again,” Chaput told The Daily Mail.
This allowed Chaput to make her escape, eventually finding her way to a highway where she called her husband for help.
“He then took off towards where my dog was barking so her barking actually saved my life. It gave me a minute to just walk from where I was onto the highway where I was able to call my husband then I called 911. My dog spotted me and ran towards me,” she said.
Once she was able to flee to safety, Chaput was rushed to the hospital. She suffered a broken arm and puncture wounds and claw marks across her back that required over 30 stitches.
Despite her injuries, she managed to be all smiles to escaping near death:
Mom, 24, who was nearly mauled to death by an eight-foot grizzly bear narrowly survives thanks to her HAIR CLIP https://t.co/YaRZu2U35e pic.twitter.com/JsFb8jPICD
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) July 24, 2024
Thankfully, after a ten-day hospital stay, she returned home.