SIREN, Wisc. — A 12-year-old boy was being hailed a hero for saving the life of his father who was mauled by a black bear.

The father and son were at their hunting camp near Siren, Wisconsin, earlier this month to hunt for bear. They were in a tree stand above a bait station when Owen Beierman whispered to his dad Ryan, “Dad. Bear, bear, bear,” The Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

Owen fired off a shot but missed the prime spot. The animal then tried to bite the spot where it was hit before running off. About 20 minutes later, Owen and Ryan Beierman went to look for the bear in hopes that it had bled out nearby.

The blood trail was spotty and neighbors helped look for the wounded animal, one even using a tracking dog, which found the bear and ran away from it.

They found the bear in a semi-cleared area about five or six feet away from them. Ryan Beierman using his sidearm tried to bring down the bear, but he said that despite the eight shots he fired, he missed because “I had no time and I never got the gun high enough to use the sights.”

“Before I knew it I was flat on my back. I started pistol-whipping him and it felt like I was striking a brick wall,” the elder Beierman told The Minnesota Star Tribune.

It seemed like a long time but Ryan Beierman said it was really only about 45 seconds.

“The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine,’’ he said. “All I could see were his claws and teeth.”

As he was being bitten by the bear, the father said, “I saw a flash from the muzzle of Owen’s rifle.” The shot connected and the bear was down.

“I was flat on my back and could feel the bullet going through the bear,’’ Ryan Beierman told the newspaper. “Owen was a hero. He shot that bear and killed it on top of me.’’

Ryan Beierman was left with 23 stitches to close up his cheek. He also had seven puncture wounds to his arm and several on his leg.

Ryan Beierman said he’s not going to go bear hunting anymore, the Star Tribune reported.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said more than 24,000 black bears are in the state, but attacks are rare. There were only nine from 2013 to 2022, WCCO and Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

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