Hiker stranded in Canadian wilderness reportedly ate dog to survive

A hiker who was stranded for three months deep in the Canadian wilderness reportedly had to kill and eat his German shepherd to survive after a bear took his food.

Marco Lavoie, 44, set off over the summer on a expedition along the Nottaway River in western Quebec, but was attacked sometime in August by a bear, Sgt. Ronald McInnis, a spokesman for the Quebec Provincial Police, told ABC News.

McInnis said authorities believe Lavoie survived the attack after his German shepherd got in the way of the bear, but the attack damaged his survival equipment and ate his food.

A source – who spoke to QMI Agency on condition of anonymity – said Lavoie killed his dog with a rock a few days after the attack before eating it.

Survival expert Andre Francois Bourbeau said Lavoie’s body would have gone into shock from starvation if he spent 30 days in the wilderness without food.

"Hunger squeezes you so much that you would accept food that's not normally possible," Bourbeau told QMI Agency. "You can crave slugs and bugs."

Lavoie was found by a helicopter crew on Wednesday in the woods near Waskaganish, ABC News reports. His family reported him missing ten days earlier after Lavoie did not return from the hiking trip.

Lavoie is currently hospitalized but is expected to survive, police say.