CALGARY -- Bleeding and barely conscious, a senior badly mauled by a bear stumbled nearly 2 km to get help for his female hiking partner.

Rescuers who rushed the Kimberley, B.C., couple from the wilderness to a waiting ambulance said the man, believed to be in his 70s, managed to climb barbed-wire fences, despite being badly mauled.

The victims of the attack were airlifted to a Calgary hospital after Sunday’s attack in a hiking area just outside Kimberley, a town 250 km southwest of Calgary.

Both were suffering serious wounds to their faces, while the woman had a badly mangled leg — but they were able to talk to rescuers.

The victims said they were out hiking when they startled a female bruin and two cubs, and the mother attacked.

People living in the area say a black bear with cubs was seen only days ago in the same area.