Last week, a Rutgers student was killed by a black bear while on a nature hike in NJ with some friends. Police have now released the 911 call made by victim Darsh Patel's friends after they got separated in the Apshawa Preserve. "We were hiking and we saw a bear, and we all started running and it started chasing us," the caller, who hasn't been identified, told 911. "Two of us are OK, one other person [unintelligible], but two are really close, and I'm scared out of my mind for them. I want to go back, but I'm hurt and I don't know what to do."
Patel, 22, was hiking with four friends last Sunday; when they noticed the bear beginning to follow them, they ran, splitting up while doing so. Patel was found mauled to death about two hours after the 911 call was made, with bite and claw marks on his body. Investigators concluded he'd been attacked by a four-year-old 300-pound black bear, which they found nearby and killed at the scene. According to CNN, some NJ residents saw a large black bear hunting for food near the woods the day before the attack.
Officials say this was the first ever fatal human-bear attack in NJ history. Bear sightings are extremely common around NJ—there are as many as 2,400 bears in the various forests around the state, and they have been spotted in a lot of suburban neighborhoods this summer.
As for why the bear attacked these hikers, Kelcey Burguess, principal biologist and leader of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife's black bear project, said most likely it was looking for food, particularly since there is a current shortage of the acorns and berries that bears eat. The hikers had granola bars and water with them.
