Bear Eats Hiker

Not sure if this made the news beyond the NYC metro area.  This was not in a remote area . . . I never thought black bears could be that aggressive if you stayed out of their way.  Really horrible, time to get some bear spray for our family hikes in Dutchess and Ulster counties.

Petronio

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/nyregion/black-bear-kills-rutgers-student-during-a-hike-in-new-jersey.html

Another reason not to ski in the glades, both the bears and the trees are out to get you...


Not to be too flippant - sad story though.

I saw this. Last fatal black bear attack in NJ since 1850? There has to be an explanation or cause.

Harvey wrote

  There has to be an explanation or cause.

That's simple --- he was hungry

Reports in the local paper say that the hiker's body was found with claw and bite marks on it. A 300 lb male bear was found circling the area where the guy's corpse was and was then blasted with a shotgun when tactics to scare him away were not successful. As best as I can tell, it's still being determined if the marks from the bear were pre- or post-mortem.

I doubt that black bears, known to be scavengers, have any interest in eating flesh of any kind.

DrSkimeister wrote

I doubt that black bears, known to be scavengers, have any interest in eating flesh of any kind.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/science/11bears.html

As the saying goes, you don't need to be faster than the bear, just faster than whoever is with you.

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It sucks, their natural habitat is gone and frankly we provide a lot more food for them within civilization. It's just a bad combination. 5 years ago I would have told you to go to Phonecia to see bears, now NJ seems to be where they're at.