Bear hunting season opened Monday to hunters using bow and arrows
UPDATE: N.J. bear hunt protestors call bow, arrow season 'cruelest thing possible'
NEWTON -- New Jersey's extended bear hunt began early Monday with the first kill by a bow and arrow hunter recorded in Sussex County.
Jason Capozzoli, of Stillwater, checked into the Whittingham Wildlife station at 8:30 a.m. with a 104-pound female bear.
In the extended hunting season, hunters with valid bear hunt permits and hunting licenses are allowed to hunt bears using bow and arrows from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12, and using both bow and arrows and muzzleloaders from Oct. 13 to Oct. 15, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"We're the last state that holds a bear hunt to incorporate bow and arrows into it," said Robert Geist, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. "All of the other states have a bow component. The last time we used it was in the late 1960s or early 1970s."
Geist said cited increased human and bear interaction as the reason for the extended hunt, which was scheduled for October because of more favorable weather conditions.
"This is part of our comprehensive bear management program," said Geist. "We now have bear sightings in all 21 counties in New Jersey. By doing this we can prevent negative bear interaction with humans and property."
Geist said the majority of bear sightings have been north of Route 80 and west of Interstate 287. During this time of year, he said bears are preparing dens and looking for food sources.
"We want to manage this culturally not biologically," said Carole Stanko, chief of the Bureau of Wildlife Management.
Five bear hunting zones are open to hunting in Bergen, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. The DEP sold 7,664 permits for the first week of the bear hunt compared to the 8,799 permits sold for the 2015 season.
Hunters will have to apply for new permits when the firearm-only season takes place from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10, said Geist. There's an option to extend the bear hunt if the harvest objectives are not met, the DEP has said.
In previous years, hunters were limited to one bear, but in the current season hunters may kill two bears, limited to one bear during each week of hunting and each hunting zone permit.
The bear season will close if the harvest rate reaches 30 percent of bears tagged in 2016, the DEP has said.
More information on the bear hunt is available on the DEP's bear hunting season website.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.