A 12-year-old boy shot and killed a wounded black bear that was mauling his father near their hunting lodge in the dense western Wisconsin woods.
Ryan Beierman, 43, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he was pinned beneath the 200-pound bruin on September 6 when his son, Owen, fired a shot from his hunting rifle.
“Owen was a hero. “He shot that bear and killed it on top of me,” claimed Beierman, who had bites on his forehead, arm, and leg. He also needed stitches to reconnect a damaged skin flap on his cheek after the attack.
Earlier, he and Owen saw the bear from a tree stand near Siren, Wisconsin, some 90 miles northeast of Minneapolis. Owen fired a shot, injuring the bear, which then fled. The two waited around 20 minutes before beginning their search for the bear, which they attempted to locate using a neighbor’s tracking dog.
“We were sort of hung up in a thicket when we heard the dog yelp and sprint past us in retreat,” Beierman told the newspaper. “I just stepped into a semi-clearing. I said, ‘There he is, Owen.'”
The bear charged from approximately 6 feet away. Beierman claimed he fired eight shots at the beast with his pistol, but they all missed.
“Before I knew it, I was flat on my back,” he explained. “I began pistol-whipping him, and it felt like I was hitting a brick wall.” I tried to smack him between the ears and mouth with the pistol’s rough edge.”
The bear then rushed for Beierman’s head.
“All I could see were his claws and teeth,” he told me. “I raised my right arm to block him,” I recall the first mouthful. I heard a crunch. The bear continued attacking. “He was not going to leave me.”
“The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine,” Beierman explained. “I am punching, kicking, and flailing around. That’s when I noticed a flash from the muzzle of Owen’s weapon.”
Beierman was then able to shove the bear away from him. He estimates that the onslaught lasted approximately 45 seconds.
A neighbor started driving Beierman and Owen to the hospital. They were greeted by an ambulance, which transported them the rest of the way. The wound on his cheek would need 23 stitches. Beierman had seven puncture wounds and a cut on his right arm.
A conservation official with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed that their hunt was legitimate.