In Their Own Words: Mauled By A Grizzly | 1

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the summer of 2005, 17-year-old Alex Messenger sets out on a 42-day canoe trip in the remote wilderness of northern Canada. For nearly a month, he and his fellow campers paddle through rivers and lakes, and live completely cut off from the outside world. But on Day 29, Alex takes a short solo hike up a ridge—and suddenly comes face-to-face with a 600-pound grizzly bear. On this episode of In Their Own Words, Alex shares the story of what happened next—and how the experience changed his life forever.

Order your copy of the new Against the Odds book, How to Survive Against the Odds: Tales & Tips for Animal Attacks and Natural Disasters, for stories of everyday people confronted by life-or-death situations, showing you how they survived—and how you can too. Learn more at SurvivalGuidebook.com.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Against the Odds early and ad-free right now.
0:05.6	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:09.8	A listener note. This episode contains explicit language.
0:29.8	Alex Messenger jolted awake in his tent, gasping for breath, with an uneasy feeling, like he was late for something.
0:33.7	It was the afternoon of July 31, 2005.
0:41.3	He was 17 years old, in the middle of a 42-day canoe trip through the remote wilderness of Northern Canada. We're just shy of the Arctic Circle.
0:43.3	So we had sun until almost midnight.
0:46.3	We had twilight for hours.
0:48.3	We had to sleep with eye masks for the light and earplugs for the wind a lot of times.
0:53.3	Between the wind and the midnight sun, sleep didn't always come easy.
0:59.2	So that afternoon, a planned rest day, Alex decided to close his eyes for half an hour, just enough to recharge.
1:07.2	While he stayed behind, the rest of the group hiked up a ridge behind their campsite,
1:12.2	about 100 feet up to the highest point on the island.
1:15.8	From there, they'd be able to see for miles in every direction.
1:20.6	My plan was to lay down for a little bit.
1:22.7	And when I woke up, I was going to head up to the ridge and meet the rest of the group.
1:26.9	And so when I woke up, I just knew that I had slept longer, that everyone had come down already.
1:31.8	So that's kind of where I was headed.
1:34.7	I was just headed to the top of that ridge because that was the plan when I went to sleep.
1:38.7	His eyes snapped open.
1:41.1	And with a strange sense of urgency, Alex threw on his clothes and scrambled out of the
1:46.1	tent. The others had already come down as he started up the steep, rocky ridge. It was a clear,
	...

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