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‘Hero’ 12-year-old saves dad from bear mauling in Wisconsin woods
A 12-year-old boy has shot dead a black bear that was mauling his father during a hunting trip in the US.
Owen Beierman leapt into action and used his rifle to kill the animal – and may well have saved his dad’s life.
“Owen was a hero. He shot that bear and killed it on top of me,” Ryan Beierman, 43, told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The pair had spotted the 90kg (14st) creature in woods near Siren, Wisconsin on 6 September, with Owen shooting and wounding it about 90 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
Mr Beierman said they waited around 20 minutes before using a tracking dog to try to find the animal.
“We were sort of hung up in a thicket when we heard the dog yelp and sprint past us in retreat,” he told the Star Tribune.
“Just then, I stepped into a semi-clearing. I said, ‘There he is, Owen.'”
The bear charged at close range and Mr Beierman fired a volley of shots from his pistol, but they all missed.
“Before I knew it, I was flat on my back,” he said.
“I started pistol-whipping him and it felt like I was striking a brick wall. I tried hitting him between the ear and mouth with a blunt edge of the pistol.”
The bear then went for his head. “All I could see were his claws and teeth,” he told the newspaper.
“I lifted my right arm to block him. I remember the first bite. I heard a crunch. The bear was still attacking. He wasn’t going to leave me.
“The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine,” said Mr Beierman.
“I’m punching and kicking and flailing around. That’s when I saw a flash from the muzzle of Owen’s rifle.”
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His son’s quick thinking meant he survived the ordeal – which he believes lasted about 45 seconds – and a neighbour collected the pair before an ambulance took them to a hospital.
Mr Beierman was left with a gash to his cheek that needed 23 stitches, as well as seven puncture wounds and a cut arm.
Wisconsin conservation officials confirmed the hunt was legal.