Third-best year ever for bear hunting
5/26/2005 5:33 PM
By: The Associated Press

Hunters killed just over 1,000 black bears in New York State last year, the third highest total on record. That's according to officials at the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

State biologists said the high number of bears taken was the result of poor food supplies. During years of food shortages, bears tend to move over greater areas to find food, which makes them more vulnerable to hunters.

The top year for bear hunting in New York State was 2003 when hunters killed more than 1,800.

Black bears are the state's only bear species. They can have home ranges up to 15 miles in diameter, and live primarily in three areas of New York -- the Adirondack, Catskill and Allegany mountain ranges.

The bear hunting season in New York begins in September and runs through December.

New York's top counties for bears killed

Sullivan, 97
St. Lawrence, 88
Herkimer, 84
Franklin, 66
Essex, 64
Clinton, 61
Oneida, 61
Hamilton, 58
Warren, 55
Lewis, 49
Ulster, 49