Post date: Oct 31, 2014 5:50:13 PM

• • Article by: Associated Press

  • Updated: October 31, 2014 - 6:13 AM

WEST MILFORD, N.J. — Authorities say the first known fatal bear attack in New Jersey was unprovoked and the bear was acting in a "predatory" manner.

Officials attribute the death of a 22-year-old Rutgers University student from Edison to "mauling."

Darsh Patel was hiking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve last month when they noticed the bear following them. The group scattered, and Patel's friends, who were not injured, called police when they realized he was missing.

A search team found Patel's body, which showed signs of a bear attack. A nearby bear was destroyed.

The Record (http://bit.ly/109bQvs ) newspaper reports West Milford police and the Environmental Protection Department issued a statement saying the bear did not seem interested in food. Officials said the bear exhibited "stalking type behavior."

West Milford bear attack victim killed by 'mauling, ' autopsy finds

October 30, 2014, 3:23 PM Last updated: Thursday, October 30, 2014, 8:01 PM

By MINJAE PARK and ABBOTT

Darsh Patel of Edison lost his life at the Apshawa Preserve in West Milford after being attacked by a black bear on Sept. 21.

The black bear that killed a 22-year-old Rutgers student in the Apshawa Preserve in West Milford last month was acting in a "predatory" manner as it stalked the victim and his friends before launching an unprovoked attack, police and state officials said in a release Thursday.

Darsh Patel's Sept. 21 death, the first known fatal attack by a bear against a human being in New Jersey, was attributed to a "mauling" on the death certificate, according to the statement. The animal that attacked him was labeled a "predatory bear."

"The behavior of the bear before the attack was typical of bears involved in predatory attacks on humans," West Milford Police Chief Timothy Storbeck and state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese said in the statement.

It was unclear on Thursday whether the state ever before reported a bear acting in such a manner toward a human. Bears have attacked and killed livestock and pets but have not been recorded as having killed a human in the state. Ragonese said he does not recall a predatory attack on a human in the state but added that the DEP has received reports of aggressive behavior by bears, including bluff charges.

"Whether the intent was predatory is hard to know because there was no end result," he said.

The autopsy result from the Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark is not yet complete and "is not expected to be concluded for several months," the statement says.

Patel, of Edison, was hiking with four friends when they came across a couple who warned them about a bear. They continued walking and took photographs of the bear before it began to follow them, authorities said. The hikers began to run and eventually scattered. Four of them reunited just outside the park and called police.

Patel's body was found after a two-hour search with bite marks and claw marks. A black bear lurking near the body and acting aggressively toward police was shot and killed, authorities said.

The DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife determined that the bear, which did not appear to be suffering from malnutrition or an illness, didn't seem interested in food carried by the victim, leaving untouched a sealed granola bar in Patel's backpack. An autopsy of the bear released by the state on Oct. 7 revealed the bear had blood on its paws and human tissue and hair in its stomach.

The statement said that the bear killed by authorities was the same bear involved in the fatal attack based on photographs taken by the hikers. The bear exhibited "stalking type behavior" as it hastened its pace when the hikers tried to get away, according to the statement.

"The investigation did not disclose any sign of intimidation or provocation of the bear by either group of hikers" authorities said in the statement.

Email: parkm@northjersey.com; koloff@northjersey.com