Two young campers were injured early Wednesday when they were attacked by a black bear at Stokes State Forest in northwestern New Jersey.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection identified the campers as an 11-year-old boy from Brooklyn in New York City and a 12-year-old boy from Jersey City, New Jersey. One was scratched on a shoulder and the other suffered a puncture wound on a foot, the department said in a news release.
Both were taken to a hospital for treatment, it said
The boys were part of a camping group staying in several tents when the yearling bear enter the campground just after 5 a.m., the department said. They were in separate tents when the bear entered and injured them. The group's two adult counselors gathered the nine boys in a partially enclosed cabin after the attacks, it said.
A state wildlife official called to the campsite shot the bear in the neck, sending it running into the woods, the department said. The animal was being tracked by the department's bear response team, aided by a blood-sniffing dog, it said.
Snares and traps were planted in the area according, it said.
The department said it has closed sections of the Appalachian Trail and intersecting trails that run through the state forest until further notice.
Such attacks are not common, the department said. This is the first reported black bear attack against humans this year in New Jersey, it added.
