navigation bar
   
njdep  
  New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife
 
njdep home f&w home
Facebook Logo Instagram logo

2017 Black Bear Season Harvest Information

 

The 2017 Black Bear Season was held during two segments: the archery/muzzleloader Segment A October 9-14 and the firearm Segment B December 4-9. Segment B was extended for four days the following week, December 13-16, when the harvest rate objective of 20% was not met. A total of 409 bears were harvested. Summaries of the harvest by Bear Hunting Zone and county are provided below. Sex, age and class data will be posted when available.

Hunters were required to check all harvested bears at check stations staffed by Division of Fish and Wildlife personnel. Data, including sex, weight and size were collected, and a tooth is extracted for aging by Matson's Lab, a wildlife laboratory offering cementum (tooth) aging.

The document linked below provides sex, age and class information on harvested bears. The bears are listed according to the number on the Possession Seal attached to each bear's ear at the check station. The seal numbers are listed numerically. Tooth ages marked N/A are the result of the lab being unable to determine an exact age due to various reasons:
2017 Black Bear Harvest Data (pdf, 105kb)

For more information on the black bear hunting season in New Jersey, visit the Black Bear Season Information page; for information on black bears in the state, visit the Know the Bear Facts page.

Summaries of the harvest by Bear Hunting Zone and county are provided below.

Black Bear Harvest by Bear Hunting Zone
Bear Hunting Zone Bears Harvested in Segment A, 2017 Segment A Total Bears Harvested in Segment B, 2017 Segment B Total Season Total
10/9 10/10 10/11 10/12 10/13 10/14 12/4 12/5 12/6 12/7 12/8 12/9 12/13 12/14 12/15 12/16
Zone 1 12 19 2 11 15 16 75 28 4 4 6 2 41 1 0 3 53 128
Zone 2 10 20 13 11 9 12 75 17 8 5 4 9 21 0 1 9 56 131
Zone 3 11 16 12 9 10 10 68 19 2 1 1 2 11 2 0 4 38 106
Zone 4 1 7 2 6 2 8 26 9 0 2 1 0 2 2 0 0 2 18 44
Zone 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 34 62 29 37 36 46 244 73 14 15 14 13 9 5 3 1 18 165 409
Harvested Bears
Tagged This Year
0 5 4 4 1 2 16 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 6 22
Cumulative Harvest Rate*
0% 3.7% 6.7% 9.6% 10.4% 11.9% 11.9% 13.3% 13.3% 13.3% 13.3% 14.1% 15.6% 15.6% 15.6% 15.6% 16.3% - 16.3%
*Based On 135 Tagged Bears Available for Harvest

Black Bear Harvest by County
County Bears Harvested in Segment A, 2017 Segment A Total Bears Harvested in Segment B, 2017 Segment B Total Season Total
10/9 10/10 10/11 10/12 10/13 10/14 12/4 12/5 12/6 12/7 12/8 12/9 12/13 12/14 12/15 12/16
Sussex 23 29 16 21 22 22 133 42 9 5 12 8 5 1 1 1 9 93 226
Warren 3 13 4 10 7 15 52 15 3 6 1 4 3 3 0 0 6 41 93
Passaic 0 5 5 2 4 3 19 7 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 33
Morris 8 14 4 3 2 5 36 9 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 2 17 53
Bergen 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Hunterdon 0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mercer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 34 62 29 37 36 46 244 73 14 15 14 13 9 5 3 1 18 165 409

Back to Bear Hunting Season Information

bottom footer contact dep privacy notice legal statement accessibility statement nj home nj home citizen business government services a to z departments dep home

division of fish & wildlife: home | links | contact f&w
department: njdep home | about dep | index by topic | programs/units | dep online
statewide: njhome | citizen | business | government | services A to Z | departments | search

Copyright © State of New Jersey, 1996-2019 Last Updated: May 23, 2019