DEC Announces 2020 Bear Harvest Totals

DEC Announces 2020 Bear Harvest Totals

March 15, 2021 06:30 p.m.

Press Release from NYS DEC:

DEC Announces 2020 Bear Harvest Totals

Early Season Hunters Report Successful Harvests in Northern and

Southern Zones

New York State bear hunters took 1,723 black bears during the 2020

hunting seasons, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today.

"Black bears continue to prosper in New York's excellent bear habitat," said

Commissioner Seggos. "Bear hunting seasons allow DEC wildlife managers

to collect valuable information that our scientists use to help maintain

healthy bear populations. And successful bear hunters help maintain

populations at sustainable levels and are rewarded with outstanding food

for their families and friends."

Hunters took an estimated 1,152 bears in the Southern Zone, comparable to

the record set in 2019, and 11 percent greater than the recent five-year

average. While take in the regular season was lower than last year, hunters

had record success during the early and bow seasons.

In the Northern Zone, hunters harvested an estimated 571 bears-the highest

number since 2015. A productive early season in the Northern Zone is

generally followed by a relatively low regular season harvest, with the

reverse anticipated in the year to come. The 2020 bear harvest followed this

pattern, with an early season harvest that increased four-fold from 2019,

and a regular season harvest that dropped approximately 25 percent from

2019 numbers.

Bear Harvest Totals

Notable Numbers

3: the number of bears harvested per 10 square miles in Wildlife
Management Unit (WMU) 3K, which includes southern Sullivan County
and a portion of Orange County. WMU 3K had the greatest bear
harvest density of any unit, but the town of Monroe in Orange County
yielded 4.5 bears for every 10 square miles.
116: the greatest number of bears reported taken on any one day was
recorded on September 12, the opening day of the early bear season
in the Southern Zone.
550 pounds: the heaviest dressed-weight bear reported to DEC in
2020, taken in the town of Greenville, Orange County. Scaled weights
of dressed bears were submitted for 26 percent of bears taken in 2020.
13: the number of tagged bears reported in the 2020 harvest. These
13 bears included two bears originally tagged in Pennsylvania and one
from New Jersey. The remainder were originally tagged in New York
for a variety of reasons, including research, nuisance response,
relocated urban bears, or released rehabilitated bears.
911: the number of hunter-killed bears from which DEC collected teeth
for age analysis in 2020. Hunters who reported their harvest and
submitted a tooth for age analysis will receive a 2020 Black Bear
Management Coordinator Patch. Results of the age analysis are
expected to be available later this year.

DEC's harvest estimates rely on successful hunters reporting their harvest.

For more information on

, visit DEC's website.

2020 Bear Take Summary Report

A complete summary of the

with results and maps by

county, town, and WMU is available on DEC's website.

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