Bear That Attacked Scoutmaster Not Aggressive, Won't Be Euthanized: State

ROCKAWAY TWP., N.J. – The black bear that gave a Boy Scout Master severe lacerations and scratches Sunday won’t be pursued by the New Jersey Division of Environmental Protection’s Fish and Wildlife division, officials say Monday morning.

The bear, which was inside a cave in Rockaway Township and startled by a hiker, has not been deemed aggressive, the DEP said in a conference call with the media.

Christopher Petronino, 50, of Boonton, was out hiking with three boy scouts when he wanted to show the kids a small Talus cave, which he has visited since the early 1980s, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Bob Considine said.

See related: Bear Attacks, Traps Scoutmaster In Cave

Petronino told authorities he’s never encountered a bear in this location. While Petronino is a Scoutmaster, this was not a Boy Scouts Of America sanctioned venture, rather just an afternoon hike, officials said Monday.

Petronino traveled up to a rocky hillside where there was a low-lying crevasse in the wall that gave entry to the cave, Considine said. The Scoutmaster entered the cave, and a black bear grabbed his foot and pulled him further into the cave, Considine said.

The cave dropped down a few feet between rocks, said Sean Cianciulli, Captain of Fish and Wildlife, and then moved to the left, where the bear was located.

The bear then bit Petronino on his leg, right shoulder, and left shoulder. Petronino hit the bear twice in the head with a rock hammer, then pulled his sweatshirt over his head and curled into the fetal position, Considine said.

He yelled to the scouts to leave and get help. The scouts called 9-1-1 with Petronino’s phone, but were unable to answer some of the dispatcher’s questions about the location, keeping Petronino inside the cave with the bear, who continued to “huff” at the Scout master, Considine said.

Petronino then told the scouts to leave any food at the mouth of the cave. The scouts then saw the bear eventually walk out of the cave, and a dog that had accompanied them barked at the bear, Considine said, forcing the bruin to run up a hill and away from the scene.

Dave Chanda, Director of New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, heralded the boys – all between the ages of 12 and 14 – for their lifesaving actions.

When Petronino heard the bear leave the cave, he exited and retrieved his phone and called 9-1-1.

The time from the scouts’ first call and Petronino’s was one hour and 20 minutes.

Petronino did not observe any tags on the bear and could not estimate its size.

The area where the hike took place was open to hunting during the 10-day bear hunt earlier this month, which harvested a total of 510 black bears in northern New Jersey.

While the total number of bears killed during the hunt is the second highest since the event was established, Chanda said the area could have afforded to see even more bears be culled.