A Boy Scout leader from Boonton was grabbed into a cave and attacked by a bear. He sustained scratches and wounds while hiking at Splitrock Reservoir on Dec. 20 with three young scouts, authorities said. Using a rock hammer, Christopher Petronino, managed to fight and fend off his attacker.
The 50-year-old Boy Scout leader and the three young scouts were in a hiking trip at Splitrock Reservoir where he wanted to show the boys a cave. When he was dipped into a small fissure, a bear suddenly emerged and grabbed him by his foot.
The bear dragged him inside the cave and attacked him. He sustained bite wounds in his legs and shoulders. He fought and hit the bear twice in the head.
Petronino pulled his shirt over his head, curled up into the fetal position and played dead.
"He yelled to the scouts, who were outside the cave, to leave and go get help." Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Bob Considine said in a statement.
Using a cell phone, the boys aged 12 to 14 years old called for help. The officer responding to the call instructed the boys to place any food outside of the cave to lure the bear away from the Boy Scout leader.
When the bear came out, the dog, who was with the hikers, barked at the bear. It ran up a nearby hill. Petronino came out of the cave and helped call authorities. They started a fire for a smoke signal.
The Scout Leader spent an estimated 80 minutes inside the cave before the bear ran away. When rescuers came, they transported Petronino to a nearby hospital, Morristown Medical Center.
Though he sustained many wounds in his legs and shoulders, these are not fatal. For decades, he has been exploring the reservoir but this is the first time he encountered a bear.
"Division of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Officers and the Wildlife Control Unit believe the bear was protecting its hibernation location and they do not, at this point, consider the bear to be a Category I bear," Considine added.
According to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Director Dave Chanda, the bear might have felt threatened by Petronino's presence. When the Scout leader stopped attacking, the bear stopped feeling threatened. Since the attack, authorities have not yet located the bear though several traps were set around the area.
All the young scouts were left unharmed. They were taken to the police headquarters and released to their parents.
The growing numbers of bears in New Jersey posed serious threat to residents. This year, more than 500 black bears were killed in the state's bear hunt. This hunt aims to keep the population of these bears stable across the state.
The annual bear hunt was reintroduced in 2010 to keep the black bear population stable by balancing the number of cubs born each year. Despite animal activists protesting against the hunt by the Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Photo: David A Mitchell | Flickr
