Black Bear Kills Rutgers Student During a Hike in New Jersey

This was a shock. A college student was killed, and possibly eaten by a black bear in New Jersey. We have friends that used to live in that area, and they used to tell us the bears were becoming more and more of a problem, losing all fear of humans. In one incident they knew of, a bear had stalked some teenage kids.

We have bears on our camp property, and this makes me think seriously that we should all carry at least pepper spray when we go into the woods. I remember a post here a few years ago by a guy who was treed by a very aggressive black bear and saved himself with pepper spray.

It also confirms my thought that bears near populated areas need hunting pressure in order to re-instill their fear of humans.

David