Son saves his father’s life by punching a bear in the face as it attacked them while they were hunting in Sweden
Son saves his father’s life by punching a bear in the face as he attacked them while they were hunting in Sweden
- The pair were hunting a 22-stone female bear in the Swedish countryside on Monday
A teenager managed to save his father from being mauled by an enraged bear in the Swedish countryside by punching him in the face.
The father-son duo, whose name has not yet been released, were reportedly chasing a 22-stone female bear in Ljusdal, about 300 kilometers north of Stockholm, on Monday when it suddenly turned around and pinned the older man, a local said. Hunter.
The son managed to hit the bear on the head as it ripped up his father’s face, said Jonny Sjoblom, the hunter who led a local cull of the overgrowing population of brown bears.
The bear turned and bit the young man on the wrist, but this gave the father enough time to shoot him dead, Sjoblom told local media.
Both were taken to hospital. While the injuries to the father’s face were reported to be serious, they were not life-threatening.
Bears have attacked an average of 44 people per year since 2000, but only 15% are fatal
Ljusdal is a remote town in Sweden, about 300 kilometers north of Stockholm
Northern Sweden faces bear epidemic as growing population wreaks havoc among farmers and reindeer herders
Benny Gafvert, a predator expert with the WWF’s Swedish chapter, said the duo were lucky, as the bear was small compared to some of the larger specimens shot during the recent culling, weighing up to 340kg.
“It wasn’t a gigantic bear, but if you compare it to a dog, for example, it was considerably bigger, stronger and with more strength in its jaws,” he told a local public broadcaster.
“The bear is an apex predator and is not used to being hunted. When threatened or injured, they are capable of killing people, even if it is not their intention.
“Bears are very intelligent animals and are particularly keen to neutralize any threat in order to escape,” he added.
Northern Sweden is facing a growing bear problem, as the region’s population of around 3,000 is causing huge problems for local farmers and herders.
Up to 50,000 reindeer are killed by brown bears every year.
In response, Swedish authorities have approved the largest bear hunt in decades, allowing hunters to shoot up to 649 bears.
Population growth among brown bears is a recent trend, with experts saying conservation and reforestation efforts have led to the furry wave.
Despite this, bear attacks on humans are relatively rare.
According to a study published in the Scientific Reports Journal, bears have attacked an average of 44 people around the world each year since 2000.
Only a small fraction of these, 15%, end up taking a human life.