A girl came face-to-face with a black bear outside of her Sparta, New Jersey, home earlier this month.
The intense moment was caught on the family’s home security cameras.
“I ran back inside, and then I started crying”
Six-year-old Charlie Stankovic said she was in the house when her brother told her there was a bear in the neighbor’s yard.
Charlie’s father, Marko Stankovic, said his daughter thought the bear was far enough away that she could observe it safely, so she ran out of the house to get a look.
Video shows Charlie heading out the front door and barely making it to the driveway when she came within feet of the black bear.
The animal, seeming startled by Charlie’s sudden appearance, then runs away from her into the yard while Charlie runs back inside.
“I ran by the sidewalk, and I went behind the bushes,” Charlie said. “I ran back inside, and then I started crying.”
Officials warn against approaching black bears
Bear sightings aren’t uncommon in their neighborhood, so Stankovic said he and his daughter have talked about what to do in the event of an encounter.
“We always talked about having to stop if a bear was there and back up slowly instead of running away,” Stankovic said. “She thought that she stopped for like 10 seconds and then ran back, but in reality, she just kind of ducked and ran the other way.”
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, black bears sighting have been confirmed in all 21 counties of the Garden State and are the largest land mammal in the state.
“I get, like, a little bit nervous but not that much,” Charlie said.
“We’ve seen this bear grow up in the last couple of seasons, and they were just doing their thing,” Stankovic said, “but it’s a good note to keep your eyes open when you’re outside and look up.”
State DEP officials say black bears are generally wary of people and should not be approached.
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