When Ryan Beierman crossed into a tiny clearing in the woods near his cabin in western Wisconsin, the wounded bear he was tracking was crouched under an oak tree, looking him in the eye.
“He was in a stance like a cat about to pounce,’’ Beierman recalled. “The next thing I know he was on me. He charged and knocked me down.’’
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be attacked by a black bear — an extremely rare occurrence even for hunters — Beierman can tell you. Due to shock and adrenaline, he can’t recall how long they wrestled. But he distinctly remembers the bear’s hot breath as its fangs dug into his forehead.
“The bear was fighting for its life, and I was fighting for mine,’’ he said.
The 43-year-old business agent for Teamsters Local 120 in Blaine says he probably wouldn’t have survived the mauling if not for his 12-year-old son, Owen. While his dad was pinned to the ground under the 200-pound boar, Owen scrambled with his hunting rifle and fired a shot from his hip that struck the bruin’s vitals.
“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.’’
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Dustin Gabrielson confirmed the tale. Everything about the father-son hunt on Sept. 6 was legal, he said. DNR officials in eastern Burnett County have known Beierman as a generous supporter of the agency’s learn-to-hunt programs. The officer described the location of the bear attack as in the midst of “super thick’’ conifer trees and heavy underbrush just north of the Polk County line.
Beierman, who lives in River Falls, Wis., with his wife, Ali, and their two boys, gave an exclusive interview to the Minnesota Star Tribune. The encounter left him with a gruesome facial gash, other cuts and fang punctures to his forehead, right arm and leg.