Bear that attacked Pennsylvania man had rabies, officials confirm

A bear that attacked a man in Pennsylvania this week has been confirmed to have rabies, officials announced Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission said on Facebook that the bear “aggressively approached” a man in the Carbon County town of Jim Thorpe in the scenic Pocono Mountains on Sunday and began biting and scratching him. The commission noted that this was abnormal behavior for bears.

The man, Andrew Neirer, survived the attack and is expected to make a full recovery. NBC affiliate WBRE in Wilkes-Barre obtained surveillance footage from a nearby homeowner that shows the moment of the attack.

The bear was shot and killed by a nearby homeowner and the body removed for testing.

“Today, January 23, 2025, test results showed the bear tested positive for rabies.

“While rabies in bears is rare and a case emerging in a given area is usually isolated, rabies poses a risk to all mammals. In this particular case, male bears are usually alone reducing the risk that d ‘other bears are exposed to rabies,’” The statement continued.

Neirer was attacked while walking on a stone trail near his home and told WBRE he spotted the bear in the middle of the trail. He tried to walk away but the bear followed.

He said he had no ill feelings toward the animal and that it was likely searching for food during frigid but changeable conditions.

“They are hungry. They are starving. They are supposed to be hibernating. This weather has been weird lately,” he told WBRE.

“Hot, cold, hot, cold. Emotional, I’m not drained by it. Just part of life, move on. It could have been a lot worse. Luckily he saved me, he saved me pulled. I feel bad for the A LOT Because they don’t bother you much.

Black bear attacks are very rare, but problems with bears have increased since the population has increased sharply in recent decades, particularly in northeastern Pennsylvania. There were only 4,000 in the state in the 1970s, down from about 18,000, according to state government figures.

In the late 1990s, there were approximately 600 bear complaints from the 13 counties that make up the Northeast region; The figure had risen to 1,100 in 2002.

Anyone who sees animals acting abnormally is asked to report it to the Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-Wild.