Wisconsin 12-year-old saves his dad's life during bear attack

A Wisconsin dad says he's lucky to be alive after he was attacked by a black bear while hunting on Sept. 6.

Ryan Beierman, 43, and his 12-year-old son, Owen, recounted their brush with death to the Minneapolis Star Tribune this week.

The elder Beierman said he had been tracking an injured bear near his cabin in western Wisconsin when he happened upon the animal in a small clearing under an oak tree.

“He was in a stance like a cat about to pounce,’’ Beierman told the paper. “The next thing I know he was on me. He charged and knocked me down.’’

Beierman told the outlet he couldn't remember how long he wrestled the 200-pound bear.

“The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine,’’ he said.

He added that he probably wouldn't have survived if not for his young son. Beierman said Owen used his hunting rifle to shoot and kill the bruin.

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

Beierman was left with a big gash on his face, other cuts and punctures to his forehead, right arm and leg, the Star Tribune reported.

Neighbors helped Beierman get to a nearby hospital — eventually being intercepted by an ambulance — and the father of two needed 23 stitches in his cheek, he told the outlet, and another set of stitches on his right arm.

"I was proud of Owen," he told the newspaper. "He really held it together. But after it was all over, you could tell he was pretty shaken."

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed the Beiermans story to the Star Tribune and said the father-son hunt was legal.

Beierman concluded by telling the newspaper that he'd told his wife, Ali, he is "done" bear hunting.

"When we returned home to River Falls, (Wisconsin), I told my wife I was done bear hunting," he said. "Now, I don’t know, but she’ll have something to say. It was a wild ride. It was a hell of a night, to say the least."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com