FREDON − The flow of pickup trucks with black bears in the bed was slow but steady Monday at Whittingham Wildlife Management Area, one of five checkpoints on the opening day of New Jersey’s black bear hunt.
According to figures released last night by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the total harvest on the first day was 90.
By county, the first day’s totals were 36 in Sussex, 25 in Warren and 23 in Morris. Three bears were killed in Passaic, two in Hunterdon and one in Bergen, where there are small areas within the five zones where hunting is allowed. Also with small portions within the hunting range are Somerset and Mercer counties, but no bears were killed in those counties. The number killed on the first day, broken down by zone, is 19 in Zone 1, 22 in Zone 2, 28 in Zone 3 and 21 in Zone 4. No bears have been reported captured in Zone 5.
This first segment is for archery only through Wednesday, then through Saturday for archery and muzzleloaders. A second bear hunt for shotguns and muzzleloaders will coincide with the traditional shotgun season that begins Dec. 9.
According to regulations, any captured bear must be taken as quickly as possible to a checkpoint where wildlife biologists and technicians check the bear’s sex, take a tissue sample for later DNA analysis, extract a tooth used to determine the animal’s age and lift the bear. scale for weight. The animal is also visually inspected for lip tattoos and ear tags, an indication that the animal has previously been treated by department staff.
Each summer and early fall, technicians will capture a certain number of bears based on a best estimate of the total population in the hunting area. If 30% of the harvested bears are ear tagged, the hunt is canceled for that year. If harvest does not reach 20% of tagged bears during the two segments of the hunt, the hunt may be extended for up to four additional days.
In addition to Whittingham, the checkpoints are at Pequest Trout Hatchery, Black River Wildlife Management Area, Flatbrook Roy WMA and the Green Pond Golf Course.
Hunting regulations require that a harvested bear be brought to a check station before 9 p.m. on the day the bear was killed.
Dave Golden, the Department of Environmental Protection’s assistant commissioner for environmental protection, spent much of the day with Whittingham, head of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. He chatted with division officers and a few hunters.
At noon, Golden met with the media, including New York City television channels. There was one protester there, William Crain, now 82, a longtime opponent of hunting.
In recent years, the checkpoint has been the scene of large, boisterous protests, with both state police and conservation officials on the scene.
The bear population is largest in the northwestern part of the state, but Golden said bear sightings have been reported in every county in the state.
Bear hunting, which was reinstated in 2022, is considered a necessary tool in controlling the growing black bear population, according to Golden. “It is one part of our approach,” he said, adding that it is an important part of controlling population growth.
Despite New Jersey’s status as the most populous state in the country, the northwestern part of the state also has a reputation for having the highest density of black bears. The area has ideal terrain of swamps, forests and fields, as well as an abundance of food, both natural and man-made.
Golden said bears are just one of the division’s wildlife management programs, which include deer, turkey and waterfowl.
Even without a major protest – there hasn’t been an active protest in Whittingham for years – the hunters still refused to give their names.
Golden said that as of Monday afternoon, 4,200 bear hunting permits have been issued, each with a $2 processing fee. Permits are issued for each of the five zones where bear hunting is permitted and anyone with a hunting permit can go to each of the two zones buy one permit.
If a bear is taken during this first week of hunting, the hunter can purchase a replacement permit for the December shotgun season.
A hunter may not take a bear less than 75 pounds (50 pounds field dressed weight) or an adult bear in the company of the smaller bears.
Golden also highlighted that New Jersey has a “wilful waste” law that prohibits the killing or disuse of animals.
On Monday, a few hunters asked where the nearest butcher was because they wanted to get their bear cut up because of the warmer weather. Temperatures are expected to climb into the 50s and 60s on Friday and Saturday, the last two days of this hunt.
This article originally appeared in the New Jersey Herald: A total of 90 black bears killed on the first day of the New Jersey bear hunt
