As day four of New Jersey's annual black bear hunt came to a close, state officials reported that hunters managed to harvest 24 bears - the lowest total since the culling efforts began earlier this week.

178592679
A black bear sits in a tree. (JimVallee, ThinkSTock)
loading...

According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, this brings the total number of bears killed this week to 390, which is more than double the amount harvested by day four of the 2014 bear hunt.

Data provided by the NJDEP shows that a majority of the bears  - 11 total on day four - were harvested in Sussex County. In addition, four bears were harvested in Warren County, three in Passaic County and two in Hunterdon County. Last year, a total of 272 bruins were killed during the week-long bear hunt.

The bear harvest is meant to help curb the Garden State’s black bear population, especially north of I-78. Bear hunting is allowed throughout the northern part of the state, which is broken up into six bear management zones, however only five of the zones are open to hunting. All licensed hunters may participate.
Carole Stanko, the acting Chief for the Bureau of Wildlife Management told NJ 101.5 earlier this week that if the New Jersey bear population – estimated to be 3,500 – isn’t cut by 20 percent by the end of the hunt next Saturday, the hunt can continue for a set period of time.
Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM