Woman flees during outdoor workout when black bear wanders onto patio

That’s one way to get moving: Woman flees in a frenzy during her outdoor workout routine when a huge black bear wanders onto her patio in New Jersey

• Footage shows filmer’s reaction as she realised bear was coming towards her 
• READ MORE: North Carolina man sipping coffee on his porch has a visit by a bear

A woman was doing an outdoor workout when a huge black bear wandered onto her patio in New Jersey, causing her to flee in a frenzy.

Footage shows the filmer’s reaction as she realised the bear was coming towards her.

She runs up to the camera in a frenzy and drops her glasses and phone in the process.

The woman managed to get inside safely, but the large black bear got dangerously close to her backdoor – and even climbing up onto her patio, in order to sniff around.

The close encounter was filmed in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, where New Jersey Fish and Wildlife reveal incidents involving bears have doubled last year compared to the year before.

The woman managed to get inside safely, but the large black bear got dangerously close to her backdoor – and even climbing up onto her patio, in order to sniff around. The close encounter was filmed in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, USA, where New Jersey Fish and Wildlife reveal incidents involving bears have doubled last year compared to the year before

Footage shows the filmer’s reaction as she realised the bear was coming towards her. She runs up to the camera in a frenzy and drops her glasses and phone in the process

Black bear encounters in New Jersey rise by 182%

New Jersey saw a massive increase in black bear encounters from 2021 to 2022.

In 2021, there were 784 bear-related incidents reported to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

These include sightings, nuisance and damage reported to the DEP. 

In 2022, this number nearly tripled with 2,212 reported incidents. 

This is an increase of 182.14 per cent. 

Especially in Sussex County, to which Lake Hopatcong partially belongs, has seen a huge increase of 493 more reported cases.

While only seven were reported as aggressive in 2021, 70 were labelled aggressive in 2022.

Black bears in the area also got into the garbage increasingly often, with 387 incidents reported compared to 98 the year prior.

Source: Bear Activity Report for New Jersey

This year seems to follow a similar trend, as just this month others also had a close encounter with a bear.

In the beginning of the month, a tourist group in Alaska was on a guided tour to Chinitna Bay on Lake Clark’s Cook inlet in Alaska earlier this month with the company Scenic Bear Viewing – with the aim of glimpsing the bears in their natural habitat.

But they were taken unawares when a bear in the distance suddenly began charging towards them at a rapid pace in a nail-biting encounter.

Luckily, guide Martin Boland, who has over ten years of experience in visiting the bears, showed immense bravery as he ran towards the bear with his camera while screaming in its face.

The animal then scuttled off back into the water having been scared off by Martin’s quick-thinking in the face of danger.

 An exhilarating video of the encounter began observing a relatively calm bear around 25 meters away as it dug holes on the sandy shores in the National Park, while the tourists filmed.

But the camera quickly panned to a brown bear in the distance which suddenly began charging at the group and gaining speed rapidly in an extremely tense moment.

The tour company issued advice on their Instagram following the terrifying ordeal.

They wrote: ‘Never run from a charging bear, even though your instinct is to run. This is a bluff charge. They are just trying to get you to run. They have a natural chase instinct.

‘Don’t get close to bears in the wild. Make sure you have an experienced guide with you! We do not get closer than 50 yards. These bears came to us.’

This is the terrifying moment a brown bear charged at tourists in Alaska

A post shared by Scenic Bear Viewing (@scenicbearviewing)

But the camera quickly panned to a brown bear in the distance which suddenly began charging at the group

An exhilarating video of the encounter began observing a relatively calm bear around 25 meters away

In March, a couple encountered an enormous brown bear while hiking in Alaska.

Alex McGregor shared the footage of his ‘interesting encounter’ with fellow hiker, Laura, on TikTok on 10 March.

‘It’s coming right at us,’ he tells his partner at the start of the video as the first brown bear comes into view.

Alex then spots another bear a way down the hiking trail and crosses over the path for safety.

He wrote on TikTok that the couple had be trained to get off the trail and give the bears the right of way, making their presence known to avoid startling them.

He said: ‘We’re very grateful to the bear school training that helped us keep calm and move out of his way.’

So this was an interesting encounter. You might wonder why we didn’t just walk backwards down the trail? Why did we go into the thick forest? Every other time we saw a bear on the people trail they were just using it as a highway , cruising back and forth. So we were trained to get off the trail and give them the right away while making sure the bear knows we’re there so we don’t startle them. This bear had other ideas… we’re very grateful to the bear school training that helped us keep calm and move out of his way. #bears #brownbears #brownbear #katmai #katmainationalpark #animalencounter #absoluteunit #wildlife #wildanimals #Alaska

Alex realizes the bear is approaching (L) and makes the right decision to establish distance (R) 

The couple back off from the trail into the forest and the bear soon enough decides to move on

As part of the doubled attacks in New Jersey in 2022,  a New Jersey woman was taken to a hospital to be treated for wounds to her right arm and buttock after she was attacked by a black bear as she walked to check her mailbox near her home in May.

The 34-year-old woman was walking along Gorney Road in Lafayette Township around 4.30 p.m. Wednesday to check her mail near her home when she was attacked, police said. 

Officials said the woman, who has not been identified, saw two to three bears and was ‘involved in a physical encounter with one of them.’ 

State Police Trooper Brandi Slota told the New Jersey Herald that a bear that appeared to be roughly anywhere from 150 to 200 pounds, ‘charged and attacked her.’ 

The 34-year-old woman was walking along Gorney Road in Lafayette Township, New Jersey around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to check her mail when she was attacked by a black bear

The bear, believed to be between a year and two years old, was with two other bears at the time of the attack, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Larry Hajna said. 

They were scared off when a neighbor honked their car horn, he added. 

The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries to her arm and buttock and was later released.

In 2020, an 82-year-old man had to have more than 30 stitches after a bear attacked him in his garage in West Milford. 

Wildlife officials said a 2014 bear attack in West Milford claimed the life of a 22-year-old Rutgers University student, Darsh Patel.

He hiked in Apshawa Preserve with friends when they encountered a bear and all ran away in different directions. When they regrouped, they realised Patel was missing and his body was found after a two-hour search.

His death the first documented fatality from a bear in New Jersey’s state history.

SAFETY TIPS TO REMEMBER FOR BLACK BEAR ENCOUNTERS

• Do not feed bears

• Never feed or approach a bear

• Remain calm if you encounter a bear 

• Do not run from it

• Make the bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping your hands, or making other noises

• Make sure the bear has an escape route

• If a bear enters your home, provide it with an escape route by propping all doors open

• Avoid direct eye contact, which may be perceived by a bear as a challenge. Never run from a bear. Instead, slowly back away

• To scare the bear away, make loud noises by yelling, banging pots and pans or using an airhorn

• Make yourself look as big as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stand close together with your arms raised above your head

• The bear may utter a series of huffs, make popping jaw sounds by snapping its jaws and swat the ground. These are warning signs that you are too close

• Slowly back away, avoid direct eye contact and do not run

• If a bear stands on its hind legs or moves closer, it may be trying to get a better view or detect scents in the air. It is usually not a threatening behavior 

• Black bears will sometimes ‘bluff charge’ when cornered, threatened or attempting to steal food. 

• Stand your ground, avoid direct eye contact, then slowly back away and do not run

• If the bear does not leave, move to a secure area. 

• Report black bear damage or nuisance behavior to the DEP’s 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 1-877-WARN DEP (1-877-927-6337)

• Families who live in areas frequented by black bears should have a ‘Bear Plan’ in place for children, with an escape route and planned use of whistles and air horns

• Black bear attacks are extremely rare. If a black bear does attack, fight back

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