Black Bears Come to Blows in New Jersey

Video of a black bear on black bear battle royale—purportedly filmed in Rockaway, New Jersey—hit YouTube last week, and has been making its rounds online. In the video, which is embedded at the bottom of this post, a pair of large, male black bears throw down for the better part of six minutes before they run out of steam and the amateur videographer decides it's time to move on.

The video's tag claims that the encounter was filmed on Aug. 14, 2014, in the suburbs of Rockaway, a town situated in the northern-most part of the state. It's a region that's had its fair share of bear-related news the last few months. Over the summer, I blogged about another black bear that was repeatedly spotted casually strolling through the suburbs on its hind legs. In September, meanwhile, there were tragic reports of a college student being killed by a bear in Apshawa Preserve—the state's first fatal bear attack in 150 years.

The bears in this particular incident, though, seem dead set on beating the tar out of each other. The equally-matched duo give it their all, and inflict visible damage on each other over the course of the six minute brawl—most of which takes place in the middle of somebody's front yard. A few motorists pass by the duel, but largely seem unimpressed. Good on them—I'd have figured they'd rubberneck so hard they'd have come down with a case of whiplash.

That all said, I went to college around these parts—testosterone-fueled brawls between a couple of bros aren't all that uncommon up there. Still, I'd say this is probably one of the better Garden State scuffles I've ever seen. Top five, at least. Anyway, check out the video below to get a closer look at the action.