2011 NJ Bear Hunt
The week long bear hunt is underway in northern NJ. Through 2 days 309 bears have been killed.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...onditions.html
What is the take on this hunt, let's hear it. I've walked in Glacier, Jellystone, Maine and the ADKs, SEEN bear but haven't had too much trouble. The reports are 3,500 black bear in North & West NJ, seems like a lot of bear for that area.
Thinning them will help them. It's necessary to keep them healthy.
If you don't have something nice to say,
Be witty in your cruelty.
Better walk fast through New Jersey......and wear something orange.
They may take revenge on people killing their little 'uns...
And who could blame them...
Agreed, 100%Originally Posted by Newb
I live in Northern NJ and the area I live historically didn't have very many bear sightings. Now we have bear going through our garbage nightly.
So, yeah, the bear population is much bigger than it was and moving further east and west into populated areas.
After three days, 326 bears have been killed.
Wow, there must be a dense population if that many can be found in 3 days.
If you don't have something nice to say,
Be witty in your cruelty.
They killed 43 bruins on Thursday, bringing the hunt's total to 369.
2 Days left.
592 in 2010.
The 'gang mentality' that fosters the cycle of violence is terrible...
When will the madness end? Bears vs Humans = worse thing since the "Jets vs the Sharks"!
People like Jersey Joe are part of the problem. I live in NJ bear country and have no problems. I keep my garbage in the garage so the bears can't go through it. Put it in a sealed garbage can the morning the of the collection. A little bit of common sense goes a long way. If they find a reliable source of food, "going through our garbage nightly" of course they are going to be a problem. Give me the numbers of how many of the nuisance bears were actually killed by the hunt. Also, using common sense on the trail, like putting your pack in the trees at night will avoid problem. They are magnifcant animals and a treat to see in the wild.
I was in Florida when they brought back gator hunting and I was in Montana when the brought back buffalo hunting. Both by the lottery system. We can only hope and trust that the wildlife management people know what the are doing and we and the animals are in their best interest where all can benefit. By the way the numbers show what the eastern whitetail population was back in the 30's and what it is today I think they are doing a pretty fair job. In Alabama they ain't as bad as mosquitoes but we sure got a bunch of them now. Hopefully that's what's going on with the Jersey bears.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
I'm not sure why i'm 'part of the problem', I personally haven't had a problem with my garbage as I also put it out in the morning, but it is an issue in the area. The park down the street had two garbage cans knocked down and raided this past Monday. Should bear proof garbage cans be part of the solution? Probably, but again, this is a newer issue for my area that hasn't had very many bear sightings historically. The overall point was merely that the bear population is growing and spreading east in Northern NJ.
real simple. dwindling habitat and food + reproducing bears with no enemies = a freakin' problem. hence the hunt
History shows that wildlife management is pretty poor, and basically only reactionary in nature. Deer are poor to compare to. There are far more deer in the US now than when Columbus discovered the West Indies. Deer thrive on clearcutting and open areas that can get sunlight to produce browse , not mature forest. Hence, the deforestation of the southeastern United States has been actually good for them, while decimating or eliminating totally other species, especially the top predators such as mountain lions and bears. The bottom line is deer get along pretty well with the changes people make to the environment, few other species do.
The real success in managing deer came from re-stocking them in parts of the southern US in early 20th century after they had been literally wiped out. There was a time you could hunt all season and not even see a track in some states.
Boy,you cant sum it up any better then Lone Wolf has.When you shrink their habitat you'll have an issue.
I walk up hills,and then walk down
Jersey Joe, I said you were part of the problem in response to your comment " Now we have bear going through our garbage nightly." If one has bears going through their garbage nightly then they are making a garbage resource available to the bruins on a daily basis. This in turn habituates the animal to come back for a steady source of food that they don't really have to work for. In short order the bear loses their fear of humans. This was the inspiration for the slogan "Feed a bear...Kill a bear". Deliberately or inadvertently we can't mak food available to the bears. This is further coupled with the habitat loss we have experienced in NJ Ironically we probably live near each other and both enjoy the outdoors. Have you ever had a dangerous encounter with a Black Bear in NJ? My biggest fear in the woods is the deer tick not a Black Bear. I just feel that this hunt is a trophy hunt and not a means to curtail the population.
you don't "get" it
The bear hunt in N.J. is now officially over with 400+ bears taken:http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...but_battl.html
I don't know where all these NJ bears were last fall AT-wise. I saw one only small one on the trail and he ran away. They must be in the towns.
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