Fatal Bear Attack - "they sacttered"

Thomas Linton

Thomas Linton

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Jun 16, 2003
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(Reuters) - A man hiking in a heavily wooded area of northern New Jersey was killed by ablack bear during the weekend, police said on Monday, in what experts called an extremely rare attack.
Darsh Patel, 22, of Edison, New Jersey, and four friends encountered the bear on Sunday afternoon in the Apshawa Preserve, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of New York City, according to the West Milford Township, New Jersey, police department.

The bear began to follow the hikers and they scattered, police said in a statement. Four of them regrouped but Patel was missing and they contacted police, it said. Patel's body was found about two hours later.
"Evidence at the scene indicated that the victim had been attacked by a bear," the statement said.

A bear was found at the scene and killed, police said.

Black bears are common in New Jersey and have been seen in all of the state's 21 counties, but attacks on humans are unusual, according to experts. "It is definitely rare," said Lawrence Hajna, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The current number of bears in New Jersey is about 2,500, he said. New Jersey, which the DEP said has one of the highest black bear densities in the nation, holds a six-day bear hunt in December. No one had been killed by a black bear in New Jersey since 1852, according to a 2010 report on black bears by the New Jersey Fish and Game Council.
In New York state, a bear killed a 5-month-old girl in 2002 after knocking her out of a stroller and dragging her into the woods of the Catskills Mountains.
Four years ago, a bear in northwestern New Jersey attacked a man and took his sandwich, leaving him with cuts, bruises and a dislocated shoulder. Police at the time said the incident was the first of its kind in Vernon in more than 25 years, despite a large number of bear sightings. Typically, black bears are not aggressive and tend to flee from humans, according to the New Jersey DEP website.
They create a nuisance by getting into residential garbage and tend to be active in the fall when searching for food ahead of the winter, it said. Apshawa Preserve is a 576-acre (233-hectare) nature preserve of oak and sugar maple trees that is popular with hikers and bird watchers.
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that's sad. my favorite place to mountain bike is next to it so i always pass by that area. the record taken by a hunter 5 yrs ago in that area was just over 800 lbs i think...i spotted a huge one 3 yrs ago too just past sunrise while on my bike but she was already running away from me by the time i realized what it was.
 
Also today there was a report of a Griz with cub attack in Montana. The hiker had bear spray but was unable to use it. He escaped with relatively minor injuries.
 
Several years back at a scouting camping trip we met with a medium-large sized black bear with her cubs. Everyone stood their ground and did not run. The bear charged forward about 10-15 feet then stopped, turned around and just left. I've encountered black bears many times since then, but typically if you don't bother them, they don't bother you. Typically you should make your self as "big" as possible and if in a larger group yell and scare the bear away. Running or panicking is probably the worst thing to do.
 
1) Bear. Advice on how to handle a threatening situation with a bear is often conflicting. The following seems to be the best advice, but no advice is 100% certain..

a) If you have seen bear cubs, you should have at least started moving away from them. Momma bear is more likely downwind from her cubs. Survival becomes an issue when you notice Mom. If you see her, move away from Mom and in a direction away from the cubs.

b) Do not make direct eye contact. It may seem like a challenge.

c) DO NOT RUN! It triggers a chase instinct in any predator (bear; cougar; wolf).

d) Raise your arms to seem as large as possible.

e) Do not yell at the bear. Instead, talk calmly to the bear. It seems to help. High-pitched squeals of fear do NOT help. Again, they may trigger hunting instincts.

f) Back away slowly. (Did we mention not running?)

g) Most charges are bluffs. If actually attacked, use bear spray if available. If you do not have bear spray or it does not work, play dead. BLACK BEARS ONLY: If playing dead doesn't quickly stop the attack, or if a bear has entered your tent, fight! Concentrate on the eyes and nose. Wild animals are more intimidated by objects thrown at them (rocks; sticks) as compared to object swung at them.

g) Some say to climb a tree. Bears are much faster than you are and climb trees much better than most humans. The sprint towards a tree may just draw an attack.
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So you running at full speed of 20 mph can outrun 35 mph bear ??? I told you that the education system has failed. The tree huggers stopped bear hunts for three years , now there are many.
 
Extensive building in north Jersey has eliminated enough bear habitat to disrupt their territories. Some of them have explored new territories down this way. We don't have suitable areas for them so they don't stay here.
 
I doubt that it would have gotten too close to a group of 5 people and if it did then at the very least it's 5 against 1. But they scattered and ran and the bear likely went for the nearest/slowest.
I can understand if it were kids or teens they might panic and run, but you'd expect 20-somethings to have at least a little more sense.
It reminds me of the old joke; I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you. But that's a just joke, in real life freaking stick together.
 
Esav , not too long ago one of the NJ politicians complained about bears moving in from PA. He wanted guards standing on the border to prevent this !! LOLLOL
 
We also found that some of the stories about bears in that area breaking into houses were flat-out fabrications. It was all in support of the hunt being reintroduced. I'm not opposed to hunting, but on the current scale, it won't reduce population.

On the other hand, hanging out on the border might be a fun job for a while. How much was he going to get the state to pay? :D
 
I have to admit, I laughed when I read this:

"Four years ago, a bear in northwestern New Jersey attacked a man and took his sandwich..."

Bears have got some nerve.
 
Apparently this is the first fatal black bear attack in NJ since 1852. From what I gather, black bears are usually not much of a worry - most likely to run, and likely to give way when confronted. With the notable exception that on the rare occasion a black bear decides he wants to hunt and eat you, he certainly can. In any case, these people made some poor decisions in running and not staying together.
 
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