A Boonton Boy Scout leader survived a bear attack by striking the animal with a rock hammer and playing dead for over an hour, after it mauled him in a cave on Sunday afternoon.

The incident occurred when Scoutmaster Christopher Petronino, 50, and three Scouts stopped near the Split Rock reservoir in Rockaway Township, New Jersey during a hiking trip, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. A black bear pulled Petronino into a cave and attacked him.

After Petronino entered the cave, "a black bear grabbed his foot and pulled him further [inside]," a DEP statement reads, according to NBC News. "The bear then bit the victim's leg, his right shoulder and then his left shoulder."

In turn, the scout leader grabbed his rock hammer and struck the beast twice in the head. He then pulled his sweatshirt off over his head and curled into the fetal position to play dead. Meanwhile, three Boy Scouts in his group called 911 with Petronino's phone, but could not provide dispatchers with an accurate description of their location.

About an hour later, the Scouts used food to attempt to lure the animal out of the cave, NJDEP Press Director Bob Considine said. After "a substantial amount of time," the bear came out and ran off when a dog belonging to one of the Scouts barked at it.

Once Petronino heard the bear leave the cave, he followed it out and used his cell phone to give emergency services an accurate location to find the group.

Eighty minutes passed between the Scouts' call to 911 and Petronino's call to emergency service, Considine said. Once first responders arrived on the scene, Petronino was airlifted to a hospital.

According to his father, Michael Petronino, the scoutmaster was in "bad shape" and would have to undergo several hours of surgery.