Tenn. Dad Saves Son From Bear

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.)