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ALBANY — Hunters bagged more than 1,500 black bears statewide in the 2016 hunting seasons, the Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday.
Hunters took a total of 1,025 black bears in the Southern Zone, about 10 percent fewer than in 2015. In the Northern Zone, 514 bears were harvested, approximately 12 percent fewer than the year previous. The numbers include bow hunting and muzzleloading kills.
The heaviest dressed weight bear reported to the DEC in 2016 came in at 555 pounds in the town of Brandon, Franklin County. A 540-pound dressed weight bear was reportedly taken in the town of Walton in Delaware County, and seven bears were reported with dressed weights between 400 to 500 pounds.
“Black bears are thriving in New York currently, and are a great resource for both out-of-state and local hunters,” Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a press release.
A total of 1,539 black bears were taken, compared with 1,715 in 2015.
Here’s the local breakdown:
Albany County: 10, half of them in Rensselaerville
Columbia County: 14
Greene County: 76, with 18 in the town of Hunter
Rensselaer County: 10
Saratoga County: 17, mostly in Day and Hadley
Schenectady County: One, in Rotterdam.
— Staff report
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