Student Took Photos Of Bear Moments Before It Killed Him

New Jersey – A senior student from Rutgers University was mauled to death by a bear after taking its picture.

22-year-old Darsh Patel was hiking with four friends through the Apshawa Preserve in West Milford when they saw a black bear. They started snapping photos when he and his friends realized the 160-kilogram beast was heading towards them.

The tragic incident happened in September, but police released six photos from the victim’s cellphone just recently.

The images taken before the mauling show the huge bear walking towards a fallen tree about 30 meters away from the group. The five other photos show the bear getting closer to them.

Despite warning from fellow hikers, the students still went closer to where the animal stays.

According to police report, “They stopped and took photographs of the bear with their cellphones and the bear began walking towards them.”

When the group saw the bear approaching them, they started to split up and ran away in different directions. The last time they saw their friend Patel was when he climbed some rocks in an attempt to get away from the animal.

After some time, the students regrouped but they noticed Patel was missing. They immediately called the police to start a search and rescue operation.

After a 2-hour search, police officers found the bear lingering near the victim’s dead body.

The bear was shot to death. An autopsy report showed the beast had swallowed blood, human tissue, and some of Patel’s clothing. Blood was also found on its claws.

The victim’s phone was also found nearby with fang marks on it.