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DEC Announces 2024 Bear Harvest Estimates
Published: March 07, 2025 at
03:45 p.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Announces 2024 Bear Harvest Estimates
Healthy Bear Population Continues to Provide Great
Hunting Opportunities in New York State
The New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that
hunters in New York harvested an estimated 1,685 bears during the 2024
hunting seasons. The 2024 bear harvest was 24 percent higher than 2023 and
approximately 13 percent higher than the five- and 10-year averages.
“New York’s
healthy bear population continues to provide excellent hunting
opportunities,” said DEC Division of Fish and Wildlife Director
Jacqueline Lendrum. “Data collected and voluntarily submitted by
hunters, taxidermists, and meat processors through the Black Bear Management Cooperator Program allows
DEC to monitor trends to ensure the bear population remains robust and
hunting traditions continue for the long term.”
Hunters harvested
an estimated 657 bears in the Northern Zone and an estimated 1,028 bears in
the Southern Zone. Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) within the Catskills
and western Adirondacks continued to produce the highest bear harvest
densities. In WMUs 3C, 3K, 3M, 4P, 4R, 4W, 4Z, 6C, 6H, and 8Y hunters
harvested more than 10 bears per 100 square miles, with hunters taking more
than 14 bears per 100 square miles in WMUs 3C and 6C.
Long-term trends
in bear harvest density suggest that bear populations have stabilized in
both the Northern and Southern Zones following population expansions that
contributed to peak bear harvest densities throughout the early 2000s.
Widespread drought conditions likely contributed to the elevated bear
harvest during the 2024 seasons. During periods of drought, natural food
sources for bears can become scarce and bears may travel farther in search
of food or congregate around available food sources. This can increase the
likelihood that hunters will encounter bears.
Notable Numbers
- 14.4:
the number of bears harvested per 100 square miles in WMU 6C, which
had the highest bear harvest density of any WMU.
- 564 pounds: the heaviest dressed-weight bear reported to DEC in 2024.
The male bear was harvested in the town of Wilton, Saratoga County,
WMU 5J.
- 46:
the number of cooperating taxidermists and meat processors that
assisted with the collection of biological data from harvested bears
in 2024.
- 677:
the number of harvested bears from which DEC received pre-molar teeth
to determine the bear’s age in 2024.
- 21:
the age of the oldest bear harvested in 2023 (the most recent year for
which age data are available). The bear was harvested in the town
Webb, Herkimer County, WMU 5H.
Black bear
harvest data are gathered from two main sources: harvest reports required
of all successful bear hunters and the physical examination of bears by DEC
staff, cooperating taxidermists, and meat processors. Harvest estimates are made by cross-referencing
these two data sources and determining the rate at which hunters report
their bear harvests in each zone. In fall 2025, DEC will send a
commemorative 2024 Black Bear Management Coordinator Patch and a letter
confirming each bear’s age to all hunters who reported their bear harvest
and submitted a tooth for age analysis.
DEC’s 2024 Bear Harvest Summary report (PDF) provides
tables, figures, and maps detailing the bear harvest around the state. Past
harvest summaries are also available on DEC’s website. DEC’s Black Bear Management Plan (PDF) provides
information on how DEC determines black bear population objectives
throughout the state.
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