The 2016 Black Bear Season was held during two segments: a new archery/muzzleloader segment October 10-15 and a firearm segment December 5-10, 2016. A total of 636 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.
2016 Black Bear Harvest Data (pdf, 115kb)
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.
Data is as of 8:30 p.m. Saturday, December 10.
All data is preliminary and subject to revision.
Black Bear Harvest by Bear Hunting Zone
Bear Hunting Zone |
Bears Harvested in Segment A |
Segment A Total |
Bears Harvested in Segment B |
Segment B Total |
Season Total |
10/10 |
10/11 |
10/12 |
10/13 |
10/14 |
10/15 |
12/5 |
12/6 |
12/7 |
12/8 |
12/9 |
12/10 |
Zone 1 |
46 |
20 |
7 |
17 |
16 |
15 |
121 |
10 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
23 |
144 |
Zone 2 |
64 |
37 |
24 |
25 |
14 |
35 |
199 |
13 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
28 |
227 |
Zone 3 |
74 |
32 |
22 |
19 |
19 |
17 |
183 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
14 |
197 |
Zone 4 |
21 |
10 |
9 |
3 |
6 |
8 |
57 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
66 |
Zone 5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
Total |
206 |
100 |
62 |
64 |
55 |
75 |
562 |
27 |
18 |
13 |
3 |
6 |
7 |
74 |
636 |
Harvested Bears
Tagged This Year |
17 |
7 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
7 |
46 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
51 |
Cumulative Harvest Rate*
|
8.6% |
12.2% |
12.7% |
15.2% |
19.8% |
23.4% |
23.4% |
23.4% |
24.4% |
24.9% |
24.9% |
25.9% |
25.9% |
25.9% |
25.9% |
*Based On 197 Tagged Bears Available for Harvest
Black Bear Harvest by County
County |
Bears Harvested in Segment A |
Segment A Total |
Bears Harvested in Segment B |
Segment B Total |
Season Total |
10/10 |
10/11 |
10/12 |
10/13 |
10/14 |
10/15 |
12/5 |
12/6 |
12/7 |
12/8 |
12/9 |
12/10 |
Sussex |
104 |
49 |
28 |
39 |
29 |
47 |
296 |
23 |
9 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
48 |
344 |
Warren |
36 |
22 |
15 |
7 |
6 |
10 |
96 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
106 |
Passaic |
19 |
11 |
12 |
8 |
2 |
4 |
56 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
64 |
Morris |
41 |
15 |
6 |
7 |
16 |
13 |
98 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
104 |
Bergen |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Hunterdon |
5 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
15 |
Somerset |
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 |
Total |
206 |
100 |
62 |
64 |
55 |
75 |
562 |
27 |
18 |
13 |
3 |
6 |
7 |
74 |
636 |
Back to Bear Hunting Season Information