A young black bear allegedly attacked two boys at a campsite in a heavily wooded area of Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, northwestern New Jersey on Wednesday. Two boys, a 12-year-old from Jersey City and an 11-year-old from New York City were slightly injured. Both children were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The bear was shot in the neck but scampered off into the woods.
Wildlife officials today repudiated the claim that two young campers were injured by a black bear in Stokes State Forest Wednesday morning. Shortly after an encounter with a bear, camp counselors spotted marks on the foot and shoulder of the two campers and told officials they had been injured during the incident. The wounds, however, were not from the bear, said Larry Herrighty, assistant director of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Supposedly, around 5 am the bear searching for food entered an area being used by campers from Montague-based Trail Blazers Camp, state police said. The bear tried to grab one boy out of a tent, causing a minor foot injury, and swiped at another boy, causing a shoulder injury. Two adult counselors with the group of nine young campers then sought refuge in a partially enclosed shelter, where they made as much noise as possible to try to scare the bear away while calling for help.
The bear left but soon returned to the campsite when a wildlife technician arrived and shot it in the neck. The bear fled into the woods and is still being tracked by conservation officers and the Department of Environmental Protection. Snares and traps also were set in the wooded area.
Wildlife officials said the bear weighing approximately 150-pounds is a yearling, the age between cub and full-grown when a bear strikes out on its own. The attack was near the Appalachian Trail. Sections of the trail and intersecting hiking trails running through Stokes State Forest were closed as authorities searched for the bear.
"The bear will be shot and killed when found because it's considered an aggressive animal toward humans," Larry Ragonese, a DEP spokesman.
It was the first reported instance of a black bear attack against humans in New Jersey this year. Bear attacks are infrequent in New Jersey. Black bears can be curious but usually run away when people make noise. Bear incidents in NJ have decreased this year. There were 3,035 reported incidents in 2010, compared with 3,012 the prior year.
Trail Blazers, started in 1887, is the second oldest summer program in the United States, and the first to offer environmental education. In its 125-year history, this was the first reported bear attack on any of its campers.
The state black bear population has grown dramatically since the 1980s, mostly in North Jersey, and now stands at about 3,400. The DEP held a controversial six-day black bear hunt last December. Hunters killed 592 bears. This was NJ’s first bear hunt since 2005. A bear hunt is planned again this year for December 5-10.
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