A hunter in the woods of Pine County early Saturday morning was attacked and seriously wounded by a black bear, the Associated Press reports.

The man, whose name has not been released, told authorities he was tracking the wounded bear about 3:30 a.m., when the animal charged at him out of the darkness and knocked him down.

The bear clawed and bit him on his chest, arms and legs, according to the Associated Press. The hunter said he tried to fight off the bear by stabbing it with his hunting knife.

According to the Pine County Sheriff’s Office, the attack occurred over a mile into dense wild land and emergency responders rode to the victim's rescue on ATVs, KSTP reports.

The victim was flown to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, where he's listed in stable condition.

The bear fled and has not been found, but the sheriff's office says there's no risk to the general public.

The Department of Natural Resources is assisting with the investigation.

Black bear attacks are uncommon in Minnesota. But just a few months ago, a man in northwestern Minnesota was saved from a bear attack by the family's black Lab, Toby.

Toby was out with Chris Wacker who was picking mushrooms near his father's home, when the dog came upon a family of bears. One of the adult bears attacked Toby while Wacker was able to get inside. The dog was severely injured and died a few days later.

Another recent attack happened last summer. A northern Minnesota woman was attacked by an adult black bear after her dog ran after two young bears. The DNR believes the presence of the yearlings led to the attack.

There have only been about half a dozen black bear attacks in Minnesota since 1987, and only one known attack that was unprovoked, the DNR says.