A black bear walks close to a group of hikers near the summit of the Stairway to Heaven trail in Vernon Township, New Jersey - with the encounter caught on camera.
In the video, 25-year-old Julie Tupey was told by her fellow hikers to get up slowly and move away as the bear inches closer to their group. The video was taken back in June, by Tupey's friend Joe Kun, also a 25-year-old and a real estate agent from Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Kun said, in an article from British news agency Daily Mail, that the incident occurred early in the summer, in the middle of June when NJ was still under strict lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. "There wasn't much to do at the time so we decided to go hiking at a very popular trail called Stairway to Heaven in Vernon NJ which has a viewpoint at the top of the trail," Kun added.
"We are all rather experienced hikers so this wasn't something new to us," the NJ-based real estate agent shared. They reportedly saw the black bear appear from the woods and after about five minutes, the bear retreated and later moved closer to Julie Tupey, seen in the video sitting on a rock.
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No longer seen in the video, the bear reportedly continued walking past the point where Tupey sat, moving closer to other hikers. Their group warned the others and had them move away from the oncoming black bear.
While Joe Kun said that he has seen bears before, but not as close as he did with this black bear. He noted that the bear did not appear aggressive, suggesting that it was just exploring its surroundings.
Black Bears in The Garden State
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, black bears are the largest land mammal in the state and an integral part of both The Garden State's natural heritage and its natural ecosystems.
Local environmental agencies have implemented an integrated approach aimed at "fostering coexistence between people and bears," which might have made the incident with Julie Tupey's team possible - with the bear pacing around without immediately displaying aggression or hostility.
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Since the 1980s, the population of black bears in New Jersey has increased and expanded from the forest areas of Northwestern New Jersey to include the state's southern and eastern regions. In fact, the state claims that there have been sightings in all 21 of the state's counties.
Risks of Black Bear Attacks
In a 2019 article from ABC News, bear research scientist Dave Garshelis from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources explained that fatal attacks of black bears on humans are rare compared to other species of bear, averaging only once a year in all of North America. Furthermore, research scientist Lynn Rogers from the Wildlife Research Institute said that only one in a million black bears attack humans in a predatory manner.
While black bear attacks are relatively rare, they often begin as encounters involving dogs. Rogers noted that the dog-related black bear incidents include a "disproportionate number" of incidents. Injuries to humans occur mostly when they try to interfere in the animal scuffle. Another occurrence involves letting their dogs play freely, only to return with a bear in tow.
Garshelis notes that while the dog-bear encounter is a "tough call," it is recommended to arm yourself in the event to protect the dog or make noise - by yelling or hitting cookware together - to urge the bear to leave.
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