New Jersey man attacked and killed by black bear

[gjn]

A man hiking in a heavily wooded area of northern New Jersey was attacked and killed by a black bear during the weekend, police said on Monday.

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 located at the scene and euthanized, police said.

Black bears are common in New Jersey, where they typically are not aggressive and tend to flee from humans, according to the Department of Environmental Protection website.

They create a nuisance by getting into residential garbage and tend to be active in the fall 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.

[caryc]

I'm glad to hear the bear was "euthanized". I was afraid to hear that they had killed it.

That's sarcasm by the way. Is that bear any less dead because they "euthanized" it?

Do the police actually feel better because they euthanized it instead of killing it?

[cj3a]

I live a few miles from this park. I still think there is more to the story than is being told.

[bradshaw]

Perhaps the late deceased met his maker between a horny male black bear and a female not fully receptive. On the other hand, chunks of meat missing from the carcass of the late deceased suggest hunger, which makes no gender distinction. Yet another possibility is the presence of cubs born around march, the mother of which would not be ready to mate this year, but always ready to defend her cubs.

In the woods proximity is threat, and to move toward an animal is to threaten it.
David Bradshaw

[dougader]

May have someting to do with the bacon grease they found smeared on the victim's boots...

Who knows what happened. But splitting up and running were not the brightest moves.

[buckheart]

"euthanized" That's the new PC way to say, "Took a couple of blasts from a twelve gauge".
From what I read it was a three hundred pound male. When the police found the body the bear was circling the corpse. IE: protecting it's kill, so they tried to scare it away. They shot it when it wouldn't leave. Also read another account that said the 5 guys met a couple who told them they were getting out of the area because a bear was following them. Instead of doing the same they decided to go back and take pictures of the bear, probably for Facebook. When they encountered the bear it started following them, they got scared and ran, split up, and went in different directions. So much for strength in numbers.

[cj3a]

The victim was from Edison which is a part of NJ that does not have many bears so Buckheart maybe close to what happened. Someone I respect that bowhunts near to this park nearly got chased off a bow killed deer. Mommy bear held her ground when two of his other friends showed up. But until then it was getting dicey

[buckheart]

www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/field-notes/nj-hiker-snapped-photos-of-the-black-bear-that-killed-him

[usajon]

www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/26/student-snapped-final-photo-before-bear-attack-in-new-jersey/

[squawberryman]

"Hey mom I'm going hiking with the guys in bear country with no gun", "Okay honey have a good time!"

"Hey guys be careful, there's a bear up there that looked like he was wanting to follow us" (near quote) "Nah, we'll be OK"

The right to bear arms so a bear doesn't eat your arms shall not be infringed.

[cj3a]

The residents of NJ are only allowed sticks with blunt ends.

[CraigC]

Sept 22, 2014 19:27:28 GMT -5 caryc said:

I'm glad to hear the bear was "euthanized". I was afraid to hear that they had killed it.

That's sarcasm by the way. Is that bear any less dead because they "euthanized" it?

Nothing like putting a pretty face on death with fancy words. I thought "euthanasia" usually implied putting something out of its misery? Was the bear in misery after killing the guy? Personally, I would've just killed it.

Do the police actually feel better because they euthanized it instead of killing it?

Reminds me of an email I got describing how the Sierra Club (and other environmental organizations) was meeting with northwest sheep ranchers in an effort to reduce coyote predation. The bunny huggers proposed trapping the coyotes and sterilizing them. One rancher stood up and said, "Son, I don't believe you understand our problem. They're not screwing our sheep, they're eatin' `em!"

[contender]

When bears lose their fear of humans, they will start considering them a food source. Especially if they think it can be an easy meal. Hunting bears is an effective AND cheap way for states to regulate numbers, AND teach animals to fear humans. NJ is full of Disney educated people who do not understand this & got the laws passed to weaken the hunting laws. Taking pics of bears in the wild can be dangerous. ESPECIALLY if you approach the bear. To a bear, that can be a sign of aggression. It's possible this guy wanted to take pics of this bear to post on Facebook or wherever & garner a bit of fame. Well, he got his 15 minutes of fame,, as a statistic & bear poop!

[cj3a]

We get six days to hunt bear in NJ. Runs with firearms deer season. One problem we have is its late in the year and the bears start to den up.

[bulasteve]

Bears will be bears...just sayin'. To expect anything else is disney-esque. On another forum I noted this lack of common sense to a type of mankind I'll call homo-stupidous.