Tenn. Dad Saves Son From Bear

Pop uses rocks to beat back bear in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2008 7:21 AM CDT
Tenn. Dad Saves Son From Bear
John Pala describes what he did when a bear attacked his son as they hiked near a creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.   (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

A desperate dad pried open the jaws of a black bear and pelted him with rocks as the animal attacked his 8-year-old son during a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. "The bear was staring at me," said the boy, Evan Pala, who was near a creek when the attack occurred Monday. "He stood up and jumped on me. Before he even got me I called, 'Bear!'"

Rangers tracked down a young bear nearby and shot him when he charged them, said officials. The body is being tested for rabies, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel. "This is so rare," said a bear expert. "I don't know if you'd call a bear like that demented or a super bear that decides, 'Hey, I can take a person.'" Father and son were treated at a local hospital and released.
(More animal attack stories.)

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