A 22-year-old man was attacked and killed by a black bear while hiking with friends in New Jersey’s Apshawa Preserve on Sunday, making it the first recorded death by a black bear in the state since the 1850s.

The man was Darsh Patel, a Rutgers University student, who was hiking in the area with four friends when the bear began following them, according to The Associated Press.

The four other hikers said they ran away from the bear in different directions, but later found one another and called the police to help search for Patel. His body was found several hours later. The 300-pound bear was at the scene and was euthanized on the spot.

According to a statement from the West Milford Police Department, “Evidence at the scene indicated that the victim had been attacked by a bear.”

Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the State Department of Environmental Protection, told The New York Times that the black bear population in the area has “grown out of control.” The department stated that there have been 146 dangerous encounters will black bears so far this year.

Image courtesy of Ekem/Wikimedia Commons