An 82-year-old Alabama turkey hunter is recovering from bite and scratch wounds after a bobcat attacked him during his hunt earlier this month.

According to al.com, Claude Strother was turkey hunting in Wilcox County on April 18 when the cat jumped on the back of his head and neck. Strother told reporters that he typically sits with his back against a large tree but on that day, he’d set up against two small trees to watch a hardwood bottom.

“I had yelped and I was slowly looking back and forth, and I had set the perfect trap for myself. He couldn’t help it. There it was,” Strother said.

The hunter knew something was wrong when he felt like someone had hit him with a baseball bat. After being dazed by the impact, he turned and saw nothing. Then he spotted the bobcat about 15 yards away, trotting off.

“He had just bitten into the back of my neck, and his claws hit just above my eyes,” he said. “He released before he hit the bone. I think he realized he had hit something a little bit too big. It was kind of a spooky moment, until I realized what had happened.”

Strother made his way back to his truck, which was 50 to 75 yards away, and drove into town. He later received treatment at a doctor’s office where he also received a tetanus shot. “It was just a fluke deal. The table was set sort of perfect,” he said. “Everybody wanted to know, did you kill him? I wouldn’t shoot a bobcat for a thousand dollars. They were here long before we were, and he wasn’t trying to do anything but trying to get a meal. They’re beautiful animals.”

His daughter DeAnn McGilberry shared the bloody selfie he took after the attack, and within days, his story and image went viral.

Since then he’s done a number of news interviews about the incident.

“Unbelievable,” he said. “I’m not too much on this Facebook.”

Strother hast kept journals of all of his turkey hunts over the years and estimates he’s taken nearly 250 turkeys in 17 states and Mexico. Strother is currently undergoing chemotherapy for stage 4 lung cancer, but is not letting his treatment or the scary bobcat encounter keep him out of the woods. In fact, he returned to the same area to hunt the very next day.