Here鈥檚 one way to get out of doing household chores鈥攆orever.
Last week, news circulated out of Sweden that a 15-year-old boy had saved his father鈥檚 life after the two were attacked by a brown bear. According to , the predator had pinned the father to the ground and was clawing and biting him. That鈥檚 when the teen did his best Rocky impression and punched the animal in the face.
The story was first reported by Stockholm-based daily newspaper.听
The incident happened on Monday, August 21, near the town of Ljusdal, about 200 miles north of Stockholm. Every year the Swedish government authorizes bear hunts across the country to cull the national population, which in recent years has steadily increased in size. The boy and his father鈥攚hose names have not been divulged鈥攚ere participating in an organized hunt in the county of G盲vleborg when the incident took place. The leader of the hunt, Jonny Sjoblom, recounted the : the two were pursuing a female bear that weighed approximately 300 pounds when the animal turned and attacked the duo. It grabbed ahold of the father and began biting and scratching the man鈥檚 face and arms. The son punched the animal, and the blow broke the boy鈥檚 wrist. The bear left the father and then began attacking the boy, biting his wrist and arm. The diversion allowed the father to grab his gun and shoot the animal dead.
The father 听and was flown to a hospital in a helicopter.鈥淗e鈥檚 a tough guy, he鈥檚 mentally tough and will handle this well. I think more about his son鈥檚 well-being,鈥� Sjoblom said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 damn unusual for something like this to happen鈥攂ut here something has gone wrong,鈥� Sjoblom said.
This to come out of Sweden鈥檚 2023 bear hunt. In J盲mtland, a county north of G盲vleborg, two men were attacked during the regional hunt on August 24 and August 25. Regional reports said both men were bitten on the arms, however officials did not know whether either required hospitalization. Olov Hallquist, the head of game for the county administrative board, that both attacks occurred after hunters shot (but did not kill) the bears. 鈥淚f you are out hunting bear, you must try to ensure that the first shot you fire is lethal,鈥� Hallquist said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 shoot if you鈥檙e not sure you鈥檒l hit it.鈥�
Sweden鈥檚 bear hunts represent an odd wrinkle in environmental policy. The Eurasian brown bear is protected across the European Union under an ecological law called Habitats Directive, which prevents people from hunting and killing the animals, or from disturbing them in the wild. But of course there鈥檚 an exception to the rule: also allows countries to sidestep the hunting ban under certain conditions, including if the predators in question are doing serious damage to crops, forests, or livestock. Sweden has argued that bear attacks hamper the country鈥檚 reindeer herding industry, which is a major driver of commerce in northern provinces, and is a key source of income for the indigenous S谩mi population. 听there are approximately 280,000 reindeer in Sweden, and roughly 1,000 different companies that herd them.
Bears commonly kill and eat reindeer, and the attacks generate substantial media intrigue. In 2022 to a single 13-year-old female brown bear. Recent estimates peg the number of brown bears in Sweden at between 1,600 and 2,800.
As for the father and son, reports have yet to provide an update on either one鈥檚 health The Telegraph, the father was able to phone the other members of the hunting party to let them know that he was OK. Whether or not his son is exempt from doing his homework and eating his vegetables for the rest of the year is still an open question.