Sep 23, 2014 11:06 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Rutgers University is mourning the death of another student, after Darsh Patel, 22, was killed in an apparent attack from an unmarked black bear during a hike in New Jersey.

According to the Associated Press, sheriff's officers and wildlife officials found the bear circling Patel's body before killing it with two shots from a rifle. The 300-pound animal appeared to be looking for food when it encountered Patel, who was hiking in the Apshawa Preserve with four friends.

A Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesman said at a news conference the bear is now being examined and the incident is under investigation. The DEP specifically wants to know why a wild black bear would attack a group of five hikers.

West Milford police Chief Timothy Storbeck told the AP such an attack "is a rare occurrence." Normally when people call in to report a sighting, as many as a dozen per week, the bear is usually foraging through their trash for food.

While hiking, Patel and his friends noticed the bear was following them, so they split up and ran, but when they regrouped they noticed Patel was missing and called the police. Two hours later, the officers and wildlife officials found Patel's body, with the bear about 30 yards away.

According to the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick, N.J., Storbeck said Patel had bite and claw marks when the search team found his body. When they attempted to scare the bear off, it remained as if to protect its kill. Storbeck said the DEP classified the attack as an isolated incident, given the bear was unmarked.

Patel was a senior at Rutgers and was majoring in information technology and informatics in the School of Arts and Sciences.

"As we grieve over his tragic passing, please know that our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones and to all his friends and fellow students at Rutgers," Rutgers Chancellor Richard L. Edwards said in a statement.

Rutgers is also mourning the death of Caitlyn Kovacs, a 19-year-old student who died early Monday morning after appearing "in distress" and then taken to the hospital from a small gathering at a fraternity house.

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