The Bear Attack On January 19th, 2025, In Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

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In the morning hours of Sunday, January 19th, 2025, Andrew Neirer was navigating the trail system near his housing development on the south edge of town. He was working his way toward the market nearby to pick up some supplies.
In prior days an Arctic Blast had sent temperatures plunging and several inches of snow had accumulated. The area’s black bears had already beat a hasty retreat to dens dug into hillsides to wait out the winter, except the most desperate bears.
As Andrew slipped and crunched his way along the trail, the form of a large black bear materialized several yards ahead of him. It wasn’t very common to see bears out at this time of year, though several had been spotted recently around the town.
Earlier in the morning this same sow had been scrounging for scraps at the dumpster near the market. Employees at the market knew her visits were harmful to her as she would be getting food of poor quality and dangerous due to her being too close to visitors. Customers at the market may not be aware of her presence and expose themselves to the danger of a hungry bear.
After market employees ran the sow away, she made her way up the trail system toward the housing development where Andrew ran into her. As he approached her Andrew could see she was sitting right in the middle of the trail he wanted to use, and she wasn’t in a hurry to move.
Andrew wasn’t about to get pushy with a bear that should have been hibernating. He turned around and slowly made his way back up the trail. Glancing back he could see the sow rise to her feet and slowly follow him up the trail.
Now Andrew’s neighbor, whom we will refer to as Charles, had just seen him walk by on the trail near his house. Charles watched as Andrew nervously made his way back to Charles’s home with the big bear stalking him from only a few yards away.
Charles dashed outside to meet Andrew where the trail and his driveway converged. He watched as Andrew climbed the short hill and both men watched as the sow continued toward them.
As Andrew peered down the trail he hoped that the sow would turn back and not follow him out of the brush. Walking cautiously away from the bear as she followed him, he likely hoped she would suddenly realize he was a human, and far from her normal food.
With the sow closing in on him and trailing him from only two yards, Andrew briskly walked in a small circle possibly trying to shake the bear without breaking into a run. Before this point, he had done his best not to panic and run, but the sow continued to close on him.
Now Charles had stepped off to the side toward his house, as the sow emerged from the brush. Watching the sow close in on Andrew, he knew he couldn’t allow this bear to injure his neighbor. The sow leaped forward bit onto Andrew's coat, and pulled him toward her by digging in her claws.
Andrew spun and pushed the bear back, fending off her jaws, as Charles stepped in to intervene. Before dashing out the door, Charles had grabbed a pistol he used for home defense and was now going to use it in defense of Andrew’s life. Charles jogged up to the bear as she bit and clawed Andrew. She had taken Andrew down only a few seconds before Charles fired a very close-range shot into the side of her head. The sow slumped over in the grim repose of a very quick humane death.
Charles's security camera, fortunately, caught the entire attack from the perch of a pole near the front of his house. This footage could not be included in this video as it would not pass YouTube guidelines, so I posted it on our Patreon link below. It does show a bear attack in progress as well as the sow’s sad ending, so watch it at your own risk.
Andrew’s injuries were very minor due to Charles’ quick reactions. He was taken to the local hospital and received a single stitch to close a small gash on his arm. He had a few other scratches but they were not deep enough to warrant stitches. He was treated and released the same day.
As for the bear, she was killed by a bullet to her head. Sources indicated she was anywhere between 100 and 200 pounds, but judging by the video, I would guess her weight at somewhere around 150 pounds. She looks thin on the video and was exhibiting very aggressive behavior indicative of a starving bear. Attacking Andrew could only be viewed as a predatory act on her part, as she was not defending cubs. Speaking of cubs, our cub tier membership on Patreon, linked below will give you ad-free early access to our episodes and the $3 per month goes a long way in helping me continue to produce educational and entertaining content like this.

[ronford]

Great action by a concerned neighbor. Well done sir!

[charlesmckinley]

Glad his neighbor was paying attention and reacted appropriately.

[KCBarr]

You just can't beat a good neighbor.

[franzgeil]

I live about 5 minutes outside of Jim Thorpe. It's pretty rare to see a bear this time of the year. I'm glad that man is ok. Thank God for good neighbors.

[daphlavor]

A few years ago I was deer hunting in Hickory Run park, and I noticed bear scat, not thinking too much of it, I went on my way. Later I heard a crack and rumble, here came the bear, as fast as you could blink, while I was standing, I shouldered my rifle, not knowing what would it become, as the bear came closer, it turned and looked up at me at about 5 feet away, figured me as a human and took off with even more abandon crashing through pine branches that were 5” thick! I wish I could have taken a video, but my hands were glued on. The moral of the story is that we are living closer to animal habitat, and our poor sanitation habits has brought the bear closer to man. Don’t feed wildlife!

[annademo]

I would never have believed I would see a bear in January. Until I did see a bear in January. On my deck. He was hungry and devoured all the contents of our bird feeders. Always be prepared when out in the woods.

[elkhuntr]

Predatory black bear attack. Always fight back, never play dead.

[ronladuke]

A winter bear is generally very dangerous because there is usually a reason they’re out in winter ❄️

[russreasoner]

Honestly lets give it up to the neighbor, keeping a sharp eye out and paying attention to his surroundings, the bad ass sees something isnt right with his neighbor sees a bear, goes and grabs a gun then walks out there just chuck norris then pops the bear right in it mellon, dropping the bear dead, that to me says one thing, i want that guy to be my neighbor! sir who ever are your an american bad ass!!

[BertJones-ub]

Anyone who's never been there, Jim Thorpe is an awesome little town. It has a sort of Swiss air to it. Everything else in that part of Pennsylvania, you don't wanna know. For example, Jim Thorpe isn't far from Centralia.

[gkixey]

Follow-up reports indicate the bear was 100-lb and tested positive for Rabies.

[CastleMc]

Amazing documentation and a good reminder that even small black bears can be dangerous. It is so relatively uncommon that people are unaware or forget that.

[libertypastor]

Way to go, Charles!!
Man of the hour!

[debbiehansen]

I like your videos. I live in Alaska and spend time in the wild. I often learn lessons from these encounters.

[littlehuey]

Thank Goodness for having Armed neighbors!!

[JohnSmith-ctjd]

A bear is a nightmare. It can outrun you, outfight you, and unlike a dog, it can also climb trees better than you. Oh, and did I mention, it can swim, too?

[neeceeboo]

This happened not too far from where we live, in Upstate New York😮. Good thing his neighbor was there .

[GammaBB]

Jim Thorpe is one of my favorite areas to go camping. Always been warned about bears at different sites.

[hackerchn]

Quick correction: no elk in Jim Thorpe. The elk are in central PA.

[kirkstinson]

This bear DID test positive for rabies and that eas annouced BEFORE this video was posted!!