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2020 Black Bear Season Harvest Information

 

The 2020 Black Bear Season was held during two segments: the archery/muzzleloader Segment A, October 12-17 and the firearm Segment B, December 7-12. Segment B was extended for four days the following week, December 16-19, when the harvest rate objective of 20% was not met. A total of 410 bears were harvested for a harvest rate of 13.4%. 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; due to COVID-19 hunters called for instructions. Data, including sex, weight and size were collected, and a tooth was 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:
2020 Black Bear Harvest Data (pdf, 228kb)

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, 2020 Segment A Total Bears Harvested in Segment B, 2020 Segment B Total Season Total
10/12 10/13 10/14 10/15 10/16 10/17 12/7 12/8 12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/16 12/17 12/18 12/19
Zone 1 9 13 15 13 9 10 69 6 11 1 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 25 94
Zone 2 22 28 25 31 5 29 140 9 5 1 3 3 7 0 1 1 2 32 172
Zone 3 27 19 15 9 5 6 81 3 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 10 91
Zone 4 4 13 11 8 3 5 44 4 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 51
Zone 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Total 62 73 66 63 22 50 336 22 19 2 11 6 9 0 1 1 3 74 410
Harvested Bears
Tagged This Year
1 7 2 4 0 1 15 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 19
Cumulative
Harvest Rate*
0.7% 5.7% 7.1% 9.9% 9.9% 10.6% 10.6% 0% 1.4% 1.4% 2.1% 2.1% 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 13.4%
*Based On 141 Tagged Bears Available for Harvest

Black Bear Harvest by County
County Bears Harvested in Segment A, 2020 Segment A Total Bears Harvested in Segment B, 2020 Segment B Total Season Total
10/12 10/13 10/14 10/15 10/16 10/17 12/7 12/8 12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/16 12/17 12/18 12/19
Sussex 29 26 28 34 8 27 152 10 10 2 4 3 5 0 1 1 2 38 190
Warren 11 23 17 15 7 16 89 8 6 0 4 2 4 0 0 0 1 25 114
Passaic 3 6 4 4 2 2 21 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 25
Morris 17 14 16 8 4 4 63 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 69
Bergen 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Hunterdon 1 3 1 2 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8
Somerset 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Mercer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 62 73 66 63 22 50 336 33 24 2 11 6 9 0 1 1 3 74 410

Back to Bear Hunting Season Information
Back to Bear Hunting Season Harvest Information

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Trenton, NJ 08625-0402

Last Updated: March 17, 2021