A hero dad was mauled to death by a polar bear in Canada as he tried to protect his children from the charging carnivore.

Aaron Gibbons, 31, was on a family outing Tuesday evening to Sentry Island, a popular hunting and fishing spot in Nunavut, when a polar bear started running towards one of his kids, family members told local outlets.

“He was enjoying his day with his children,” Gordy Kidlapik, Gibbons’s uncle, told The Globe and Mail. “They were surprised by a bear that started to stalk or charge toward one of his children.”

So the brave dad put himself between his kids and the Arctic ursine.

“He told his children to run away to the boat while he was putting himself between the bear and his children to protect them,” Kidlapik said.

The elementary school-age kids sprinted to the family’s boat, where one of the girls called for help on their radio.

“We actually heard the call for help,” said Kidlapik. “It was terrible to listen to.”

The grieving uncle said Gibbons probably had a rifle with him as a precaution — because the island is known to have bears — but Royal Canadian Mountain Police said he didn’t have the weapon on hand. The beast was shot and killed by another adult on the island, police said.

Community members in the 2,500-person hamlet of Arviat, about 6 miles from the island, mourned the loss of Gibbons.

“We are still in shock but we are resilient and we will go on and continue as a community,” Eric Anoee, Gibbons’s cousin, told the CBC.

“Definitely Aaron died a hero, he protected his children,” Anoee said.

Investigators are looking into what prompted the attack, in order to prevent another tragic incident from happening. The last death by a polar bear in Nunavut was 18 years ago in Rankin Inlet.

Polar bears roam freely near the community, typically in October and November — but can also be seen in the summer and springtime, said John Main, a representative for Arviat North-Whale Cove.

“It’s a fact of life for us living here now,” said Main. “It’s always something that people are mindful of and it’s always something that I think people are concerned about in terms of the risks.”

Trick-or-treating has even moved indoors at community centers because of the threat.

In 2010, a polar bear patrol program was launched to monitor the community’s perimeter by WWF-Canada, and the organization said it has also decreased the number of bears that have to be killed.

The Department of Environment and Climate Change said that in 2016, 205 bears were deterred by the program, 29 relocated by conservation officers and four killed in defense of life and property.

“We’re in bear country and Inuit long ago up to today have co-existed with polar bears,” said Anoee. “We have the utmost respect to these animals and it’s hard sometimes, but we manage.”