Boy Scout leader fended off bear attack with hammer as kids called for help, report says

The Boy Scout leader from Boonton pulled into a small cave and attacked by a black bear while hiking at Splitrock Reservoir Sunday fought back — striking the bear with a rock hammer, according to an account published on NJ.com.

The report quotes Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Bob Considine saying Christopher Petronino, 50, hit the bear twice with the hammer before pulling his sweatshirt over his head and curling up into the fetal position.

According to the report, Considine said Petronino then called to scouts still outside the cave, telling them to leave and get help.

The Scouts called for help using a cell phone ,and as authorities honed in on their area using their coordinates and a state police helicopter, Petronino told them to place any food they had outside the cave to draw the bear out, the report quotes Considine saying. A dog with the group also barked at the bear, sending it running up a nearby hillside, the report said.

Rockaway Township Police Chief Martin McParland told ABC news the scouts also built a signal fire that helped authorities find them — and that the smoke also helped force the bear out of the cave.

Petronino suffered bites and scratches in the 80-minute encounter.

New Jersey's only known fatal bear attack was last year, when Darsh Patel was hiking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve, and the group noticed a bear following them. The group scattered and a search team found Patel’s body, which showed signs of a bear attack, afterward.

New Jersey’s annual black bear hunt ended Saturday night with hunters harvesting a total of 510 bruins over the course of 10 days, after a four-day extension.