A father and son who were attacked by a bear in a forest in Sweden have what they describe as “ultimate revenge”: shoot the bear and turn it into kebabs and taco meat.
Pär Sundström, 42, suffered horrific injuries and had to undergo facial reconstruction after the beast knocked him to the ground and bit his cheek during the attack in Ljusdal, central Sweden, last August.
The hunter credits his life to his teenage son Evert, who, in a desperate attempt to save his abused father, hit the bear on the head, enraging the beast and slowing the attack.
The snarling animal turned on Evert, bit his arm and threw him around like a rag doll – but this gave a bloodied Pär just enough time to grab his rifle and shoot the bear dead at near point-blank range.
Pär was airlifted to hospital and underwent a series of operations to save his face, while Evert underwent treatment on a damaged arm.
But their fellow hunters stayed in the woods to process the bear and pack enough meat to fill the family’s freezer for months, making kebabs, tacos and goulash.
“Filling a taco with the meat of a bear that bit me in the face was, in my opinion, the ultimate revenge,” Pär cheerfully told the Swedish daily. Aftonbladet.
Pär Sundström, 42, suffered horrific injuries and had to undergo facial reconstruction after the beast knocked him to the ground and bit his cheek during the attack in Ljusdal, central Sweden, last August.
The growling animal turned on Evert, bit his arm and threw him around like a rag doll – but this gave a bloodied Pär just enough time to grab his gun and shoot the bear dead.
Evert is seen lying in a hospital bed, shortly after undergoing surgery on his arm
The attack happened in August 2023, when Pär and Evert, then 14, went hunting with some friends.
They were walking through the forest when the bear, a large female, emerged from the trees and charged towards them.
Pär was armed with his rifle and managed to fire a shot at the bear as it advanced on him, but was powerless to prevent the colossal animal from knocking him to the ground and tearing into his flesh.
Evert, who was standing just a few meters from his father at the time of the attack, told Swedish media: ‘I got so terribly angry and thought I had to do something… I practiced karate and ran forward and hit the head of the bear. as hard as I could with my clenched hand. Then I don’t remember anything anymore.’
That’s because the bear bit his arm and started hitting, which knocked Evert to the ground in a fit of anger over the course of the year.
But Evert’s courageous intervention stopped the bear from devouring his father – and gave a badly injured Pär the moment to grab his weapon.
“I had to wait for the right sight to shoot so that Evert wouldn’t be behind the bear and risk getting hit,” he said.
It was only when he fired the shot that Pär realized the true extent of his injuries.
“It splattered like hell, there was blood everywhere,” said Pär, who was forced to collect pieces of his face from the forest floor in the hope they could be reattached once the bear was dead.
“It was a big piece and I didn’t want to waste it because I thought they could sew it back up in the hospital,” he said.
“I was relieved that the bear couldn’t do any more damage, but it was horrible to see daddy,” said Evert, who brushed aside his father’s suggestion that their friends could take them to the hospital and called emergency services.
This, Pär said, probably saved his life, as he was airlifted to hospital and rushed into a 13-hour operation.
“That’s what I’m happy about today, that I have a very wise son,” he said.
‘I think Evert is a hero because I think he saved my life at that moment, simply because he reacted as quickly as he did.’
Doctors were unable to save Pär’s cheek, but were able to transplant skin from his thigh to reconstruct his face.
Pär is depicted on the hunting trip with his rifle in hand prior to the bear attack
The brown bear is Sweden’s largest predator. About 3,000 brown bears are believed to live in the forests of the Scandinavian country
Sweden has an estimated population of around 3,000 brown bears – one of the densest bear populations in Europe.
These majestic creatures inhabit the dense forests and mountainous regions of Sweden, mainly in the central and northern parts of the country, where they roam vast areas in search of food and suitable habitats.
They are opportunistic omnivores, feeding on a varied diet consisting of berries, nuts, salmon and occasionally small mammals.
Although they largely stay away from humans, there have been several cases of bear attacks in Sweden, mainly by females who fear for the safety of their cubs.
In Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, bear hunting is a popular tradition deeply rooted in folklore and cultural practices, and management of the bear population is an important part of preserving the ecosystem.
Bear meat, while not as popular as other game, is known for its rich gamey flavor and tender texture – although meat harvested from bears that have fed on old salmon or rotting carrion should be avoided.
As Pär himself said: ‘The meat is dark, coarse, sweet and needs a lot of seasoning. This bear lived mainly on grasses and herbs; the meat is good to eat.
‘If a bear has eaten carrion, it is not possible to eat. Then the meat smells like surströmming (fermented herring)!’