Warning ..New Jersey hiker killed by black bear

tigerbeetle

Full Member
Jan 2, 2009
166
275
Jersey Shore
Detector(s) used
Many -- Fisher, White's, Minelab, Cobra, others
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
From my NJ blog ... jaymanntoday - Daily Fishing and Outdoor Report

BEARISH ON BEAR ATTACK:
Iā€™ve gotten a bevy of emails regarding the fatal black bear attack on a male Rutgers student. It took place in the people-popular, 576-acre Apshawa Preserve, Passaic County. It is owned and managed by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

I took it kinda personal-like because I had helped with the stateā€™s reintroduction of black bears back into their natural NJ habitat.
Right about now, Iā€™m not sure where to go. Bad bear? Bad state of NJ? Bad student for running? Bad nature ā€“ for, well, whatever you did wrong in this case?
Face it; itā€™s all-bad in this ugly instance.
I feel fully horrible for the student and his family. Be it a bear, shark, wolf/coyote, tiger/lion or hippo (deadliest of all animal attacks) attack, thatā€™s no way to go. If life only had a reverse button, this is one of those times everyone would be hitting it.
I also feel a good-deal bad for the now-dead bear, euthanized for its untimely aggression. I guess it learned its lesson, though Iā€™m not sure that word has gotten out to other bears. By the by, the bear was later located very close to its victim. That mightsuggest its outrage was a territorial outburst.
I even feel a bit bad for our state, which has tried its hardest to bring some of the stateā€™s original (driven out) denizens back into what remains of its wooded fold. Nationwide, thereā€™s a huge pitch to bring back extirpated species. We know all too well that most of the planet is dedicated to repopulating the great white sharks. And, yes, thereā€™s something of a connection twixt black bears and apex sharks here.
I definitely feel bad for all bears, far and wide, whoā€™ll take a PR hit from this bizarre, out-of-the-blue attack. Iā€™ll bet anything that the number of Garden State hunters seeking a black bear permit will now go through the Fish and Game roof. Revenge often seeks the highest-profile bullā€™s-eyes. I guess I could get insanely political here and bring up ISIS targets, out of the blue.
Now, Iā€™ll likely get branded as bad to the bone for criticizing the way we humans invariable go batty over animals that attack but then somehow go relatively placid over the likes of unnaturally drunken drivers killing hundreds of people yearly ā€“ and, for their deadly out-of-the-blue crimes, theyā€™ll get maybe a few years in jail, tops. No euthanasia. You have to agree thereā€™s an odd disconnect there somewhere.
Iā€™ll also likely qualify as an awful person for defending wildlife at an indelicate moment like this ā€“ while not wavering a bit from feeling terrible for the victim and his family. Hey, Iā€™m a double-prime candidate for taking a ferocious, in-woods animal attack. Iā€™m out there and afoot more than your average bear, so to speak. Protection? I pretty much wield tree-climbing skills. In the case of a bear rush, thatā€™s about as effective as yelling, ā€œSit! Bad bear! Donā€™t you move so much as another claw, mister!ā€
To this day, many folks believe they can defiantly escape a bear attack by simply scurrying up a tree, with a snidely, ā€œHa-ha, Yogi! ā€¦ Oh. Hi there. Iā€™m sorry; I didnā€™t realize this was your tree. Iā€™ll just be sliding down now. Uh, excuse me, can you maybe give me just the littlest bit of room to get by?ā€
Iā€™ll add a further touch of outdoors reality here by duly bringing up the huge number of deer/buck attacks on humans. Hunters and even hikers have been grievously put upon by fired up deer in rut, far more frequently than theyā€™ve been put upon by bears. Hell, I was once treed by a gonzo buck. It was no larger than a ten-pointer. The nutso thing drove me up a minimal pine tree, which leaned dangerously sideways toward the ground. The deer then planted itself nearby ā€“ huffinā€™ and hoovinā€™ the ground. It wasnā€™t until the sweet smell of the ladies finally drew him away that I hurriedly dropped down and ran like a booted gazelle back to my truck. Had anyone along the way asked me what was wrong, I would have given the far-from-manly answer, ā€œThereā€™s a frickinā€™ deer tryinā€™ to kill me. ā€¦ Go ahead and snicker, ladies. That bugger is still out there somewhere.ā€
As to the trickledown effect from this rare bear attack, I canā€™t help but fear there will be a natural, albeit unnatural, initial overreaction. We might see an increase in the number of bears allowed to be taken in the stateā€™s upcoming black bear hunt, during which even good bears will pay for the lone transgressor. Hopefully, the stateā€™s long-term response will be tamer.
 

MuckyBottles

Bronze Member
Jun 19, 2013
1,923
1,567
Stony Point, NY
Detector(s) used
Whites coin master gt..ace 250&350
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
From my NJ blog ... jaymanntoday - Daily Fishing and Outdoor Report

BEARISH ON BEAR ATTACK:
Iā€™ve gotten a bevy of emails regarding the fatal black bear attack on a male Rutgers student. It took place in the people-popular, 576-acre Apshawa Preserve, Passaic County. It is owned and managed by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

I took it kinda personal-like because I had helped with the stateā€™s reintroduction of black bears back into their natural NJ habitat.
Right about now, Iā€™m not sure where to go. Bad bear? Bad state of NJ? Bad student for running? Bad nature ā€“ for, well, whatever you did wrong in this case?
Face it; itā€™s all-bad in this ugly instance.
I feel fully horrible for the student and his family. Be it a bear, shark, wolf/coyote, tiger/lion or hippo (deadliest of all animal attacks) attack, thatā€™s no way to go. If life only had a reverse button, this is one of those times everyone would be hitting it.
I also feel a good-deal bad for the now-dead bear, euthanized for its untimely aggression. I guess it learned its lesson, though Iā€™m not sure that word has gotten out to other bears. By the by, the bear was later located very close to its victim. That mightsuggest its outrage was a territorial outburst.
I even feel a bit bad for our state, which has tried its hardest to bring some of the stateā€™s original (driven out) denizens back into what remains of its wooded fold. Nationwide, thereā€™s a huge pitch to bring back extirpated species. We know all too well that most of the planet is dedicated to repopulating the great white sharks. And, yes, thereā€™s something of a connection twixt black bears and apex sharks here.
I definitely feel bad for all bears, far and wide, whoā€™ll take a PR hit from this bizarre, out-of-the-blue attack. Iā€™ll bet anything that the number of Garden State hunters seeking a black bear permit will now go through the Fish and Game roof. Revenge often seeks the highest-profile bullā€™s-eyes. I guess I could get insanely political here and bring up ISIS targets, out of the blue.
Now, Iā€™ll likely get branded as bad to the bone for criticizing the way we humans invariable go batty over animals that attack but then somehow go relatively placid over the likes of unnaturally drunken drivers killing hundreds of people yearly ā€“ and, for their deadly out-of-the-blue crimes, theyā€™ll get maybe a few years in jail, tops. No euthanasia. You have to agree thereā€™s an odd disconnect there somewhere.
Iā€™ll also likely qualify as an awful person for defending wildlife at an indelicate moment like this ā€“ while not wavering a bit from feeling terrible for the victim and his family. Hey, Iā€™m a double-prime candidate for taking a ferocious, in-woods animal attack. Iā€™m out there and afoot more than your average bear, so to speak. Protection? I pretty much wield tree-climbing skills. In the case of a bear rush, thatā€™s about as effective as yelling, ā€œSit! Bad bear! Donā€™t you move so much as another claw, mister!ā€
To this day, many folks believe they can defiantly escape a bear attack by simply scurrying up a tree, with a snidely, ā€œHa-ha, Yogi! ā€¦ Oh. Hi there. Iā€™m sorry; I didnā€™t realize this was your tree. Iā€™ll just be sliding down now. Uh, excuse me, can you maybe give me just the littlest bit of room to get by?ā€
Iā€™ll add a further touch of outdoors reality here by duly bringing up the huge number of deer/buck attacks on humans. Hunters and even hikers have been grievously put upon by fired up deer in rut, far more frequently than theyā€™ve been put upon by bears. Hell, I was once treed by a gonzo buck. It was no larger than a ten-pointer. The nutso thing drove me up a minimal pine tree, which leaned dangerously sideways toward the ground. The deer then planted itself nearby ā€“ huffinā€™ and hoovinā€™ the ground. It wasnā€™t until the sweet smell of the ladies finally drew him away that I hurriedly dropped down and ran like a booted gazelle back to my truck. Had anyone along the way asked me what was wrong, I would have given the far-from-manly answer, ā€œThereā€™s a frickinā€™ deer tryinā€™ to kill me. ā€¦ Go ahead and snicker, ladies. That bugger is still out there somewhere.ā€
As to the trickledown effect from this rare bear attack, I canā€™t help but fear there will be a natural, albeit unnatural, initial overreaction. We might see an increase in the number of bears allowed to be taken in the stateā€™s upcoming black bear hunt, during which even good bears will pay for the lone transgressor. Hopefully, the stateā€™s long-term response will be tamer.
Growing up in NJ bear country myself, I must say, it's the fuzzy bunny people who are the biggest threat to the species, for instance, look at the deer population, I have seen record numbers of piebald and albino deer due the lack of culling of the heard so to speak, having a really close friend in the NJF&G. He told me that they may instate that you need to take two does before you can tag a buck...that's insanity.
Further more, if you want to see the result of the state of NJ ' S bureaucratic policy and the direct result of the bleeding hearts, look up Hillsborough Township hiring of a sniper to "ethically" take out 150 deer and burn them, rather than give the meat to the needy. Instead of having hunters do it and harvest the meat. That's the resolve these so called "conservationists" have..

Pathetic
 

Dave44

Silver Member
Apr 3, 2006
4,815
2,214
Chesterfield, Va.
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT, Minelab Etrac, Minelab Excal II, At pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I am sorry tiger. Is that supposed to be a folksy intelligent answer from someone? Because I can tell you it is a farce.

I would like to know if, in his eons of experience tree climbing if he has ever really seen a black bear? Send this tidbit to the professor would you? Bears climb better than he does. He would wind up bear scat in the country.
 

flyadive

Bronze Member
Jun 11, 2012
2,192
1,535
NJ
Detector(s) used
Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I'll be heading up that way this weekend, Bow opener for Deer season , never had a deer attack but I have seen them hold their ground and stamp their hooves. I never backed away from this behavior as I always had a weapon in hand. They would turn a run after a minute!

The Bears would have made there way to NJ with or without NJ's help.
I'll be carrying my flair gun with me as I sometimes do. NJ won't allow anyone except law enforcement people to carry legally!

I feel the 4 Rutgers students may have instigated the bear attack somewhat?? I don't think we will learn the truth!?
 

OP
OP
Red James Cash
Aug 20, 2009
12,824
7,899
New Hampshire
Detector(s) used
Garret Master hunter Cx Plus
Primary Interest:
Other
I feel the 4 Rutgers students may have instigated the bear attack somewhat?? I don't think we will learn the truth!?

Being told stories about how some idiots(tourists)act towards moose up north,I wouldnt be one bit at all surprised.
 

MuckyBottles

Bronze Member
Jun 19, 2013
1,923
1,567
Stony Point, NY
Detector(s) used
Whites coin master gt..ace 250&350
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'll be heading up that way this weekend, Bow opener for Deer season , never had a deer attack but I have seen them hold their ground and stamp their hooves. I never backed away from this behavior as I always had a weapon in hand. They would turn a run after a minute!

The Bears would have made there way to NJ with or without NJ's help.
I'll be carrying my flair gun with me as I sometimes do. NJ won't allow anyone except law enforcement people to carry legally!

I feel the 4 Rutgers students may have instigated the bear attack somewhat?? I don't think we will learn the truth!?

That is not exactly accurate about concealed weapons carrying permit, new jersey is a "may issue" state depending on the chief of police of the town you reside in and three reputable people that you've known for three years. I'm not saying it's easy, it's certainly not, I only have the permit because the chief of police in the town I grew up in, we are long time family friends and two of the reputable people are people I served with who are "on the job".
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top