Boy Scout leader Christopher Petronino fights off a wild bear that dragged him into a cave with a rock hammer

The victim's father said he was “in bad shape” and would have to undergo several hours of surgery

Christopher Petronino being airlifted to hospital after being attacked by a bear (Fox News)

A Boy Scout leader fought off a bear with a hammer after it dragged him inside a cave while on a hiking trip in New Jersey.

Christopher Petronino was showing three younger boy scouts a cave when he was grabbed by a wild bear and dragged further inside the cave at the Spilt Rock Reservoir, a local news website Nj.com reported.

The bear bit Mr Petronino’s legs and both shoulders, and he struck the animal on the head twice with a rock hammer, according to Bob Considine at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Mr Considine said the victim “pulled his sweatshirt over his head and curled into the foetal position. He yelled to the scouts, who were outside the cave, to leave and go get help.”

The scouts called 911 outside the cave on Mr Petronino’s mobile phone, but they were unable to give the emergency services their exact location.

NBC News reported that area police fire-fighters and a state police helicopter had been searching for the Scouts in the 625 acre area. They were located using the GPS co-ordinates from the leader’s mobile phone.

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The leader shouted to the boys to leave their food at the mouth of the cave, which led the bear out where it was scared away by one of the Boy Scout’s dogs, which enabled the leader to make his escape.

Mr Petronino spent around 80 minutes inside the cave, where he turned his back on the bear, and he described hearing it “huffing”, according to NBC News.

The Scout leader was airlifted to Morristown Memorial Hospital.

Rockaway police said in a statement that he has non-life threatening injuries and none of the young scouts was hurt.

Fox News reported that Mr Petronino told authorities he had regularly visited the cave since the 1980s, and had never seen a bear.

His father told NBC News that he was “in bad shape” and would have to undergo several hours of surgery.

The attack happened a day after the state extended the bear hunt, which NJ.com reports as being a result over debates on how to handle the state’s bear population.