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Hiker photographs bear before it kills him

Darsh Patel used his cellphone to photograph a black bear following him in a reserve -- moments later, the bear mauled him to death

Last updated: September 16, 2018 | 00:09

1 MIN READ

West Milford, New Jersey: A New Jersey hiker killed by a bear in September took a series of photos of the animal with his cellphone before it mauled him to death.

Police in West Milford have released five photos taken by 22-year-old Darsh Patel before he was killed by the 300-pound black bear while hiking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve, 45 miles northwest of New York.

The photos show the bear behind a fallen tree in the woods. Investigators say the phone was found with puncture marks from the bear.

The photos were released after NJ.com filed an open records request.

West Milford police and the state Environmental Protection Department said last month that the bear did not seem interested in food and exhibited "stalking type behavior."

A black bear approaches a fallen tree in West Milford, New Jersey, just before it attacked hiker Darsh Patel, who captured this cellphone image.

Darsh Patel, a hiker, took a picture of the black bear with his mobile phone. Moments later, the bear gave chase and killed him.

A black bear lumbers toward Darsh Patel, who was fatally mauled after the bear attacked him in September in New Jersey.

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