A Boy Scout leader from Boonton, N.J., suffered bit and scratched when a bear attacked him in a cave before he managed to fight it off with a rock hammer Sunday afternoon, authorities said. Christopher Petronino, 50, was hiking with three scouts when they stopped near the Split Rock reservoir, reported True Jersey. As he dipped into the cave, a bear suddenly grabbed his foot and pulled him further inside.
Inside, the bear bit Petronino on his leg, right shoulder and left shoulder before he was able to mount a counterattack.
"Petronino struck the bear twice in the head with a rock hammer. He then pulled his sweatshirt over his head and curled into the fetal position," Environmental Protection spokesman Bob Considine said. "He yelled to the scouts, who were outside the cave, to leave and go get help."
The scouts did as instructed but were unable to give the dispatcher specific information about their location, reported NBC News. As a result, officials began tracking their coordinates and deployed a helicopter in homes of locating them. As they waited, Petronino instructed the children to place any food they had outside the cave in an attempt to lure it outside.
After awhile the bear did indeed come out of the cave and a dog travelling with the group barked at it, prompting it to run up the hillside. Upon its departure, Petronino exited the cave and used a cellphone to call police, providing them with a better description of their location.
There was reportedly 80 minutes between the Scout's 911 call and his, according to NBC News.
Sometime later the group was finally located using the GPS coordinates of the cellphone. Petronino was airlifted to a local hospital for treatment but is in "bad shape" and will reportedly have to go through several hours of surgery.
In the meantime, the Department of Environmental Protection have set up traps in the area hoping to capture the bear, but the bear has yet to be found.
