A Swedish teenager saved his father from a bear attack with quick thinking and a swift jab.
The father-son duo pair were reportedly hunting a 300 pound female bear in Ljusdal, Sweden, when the prey turned to predator.
The bear swung around and pinned the father down, causing severe injuries to his face.
Acting quickly, the man’s son managed to strike the bear on its head while it was savaging his father.
The bear retaliated by taking a bite out of the young man’s wrist, but his intervention bought enough time for the father to fire a shot off, which killed the bear.
Following the incident, the father-son duo, who were participating in the culling of Sweden’s out of control bear problem, were transported to a local hospital.
The father’s facial injuries, although serious, were determined to be non-life-threatening.
Predator expert Benny Gafvert, who works at the Swedish branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said the familial hunters were fortunate that the bear they came across was relatively small.
“It wasn’t a giant bear, but if you compare it to a dog, for example, it was significantly bigger, stronger and with more power in its jaws,” he remarked.
Gafvert highlighted the unique characteristics of bears as apex predators, noting that their natural instincts are not typically geared towards facing threats from humans, but that they’re not used to being hunted.
Although bears are capable of causing harm when threatened or injured, their primary objective is to neutralize perceived dangers and retreat.
According to Gafvert, the highly intelligent creatures prioritize self-preservation above all else.
Sometimes, humans encounter bears simply because their hungry. An unlucky Colorado couple had their wedding crashed by an unexpected guest.
High school sweethearts Cailyn McRossie-Martinez and Brandon Martinez got married in an outdoor ceremony on July 31.
When they went into the reception tent to start dancing, they found a black bear helping itself to dessert.
“It’s not too often you go in to your dessert table and see a bear crashing it and eating all of it,” Brandon told 9news.
Thankfully, after the bear got its fill of confections, it was shooed away by staff and the wedding party went on.
