In 2016, two weeks of bear hunting will take place, one in October and another in December. Watch video
The extended hunting season for the New Jersey bear hunt will start on Monday to coincide with deer season.
Hunters with valid bear hunt permits and hunting licenses will be able 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.
In previous years, the bear hunt was typically held in December, but the DEP has extended the season to include the second week of October.
Five bear hunting zones will be open to hunting in New Jersey, which extend through Bergen, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties. DEP spokesman Robert Geist said as of Friday afternoon 7,664 permits have been sold for the first week of the bear hunt compared to the 8,799 permits sold for the 2015 season.
The firearm-only season for bear hunting will take place from Dec. 5 to Dec. 10, with an option to extend the bear hunt if the harvest objectives are not met, the DEP said. In previous years, hunters were limited to one bear but in the current season hunters may cull 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 said.
Last year, 510 bears were killed during the annual bear hunt in December, the second-highest harvest since the hunt resumed in 2010. The 2015 hunt was extended by four days when hunters failed to hit the DEP's target of 20 to 30 percent of tagged bears. Only 18 percent of tagged bears were killed during the harvest.
Geist said the total reports of bear activity have increased by 5 percent in 2016 compared to last year. Despite a decrease of 3.3 percent in sightings, there's been a 9.97 percent increase in damage and nuisance reports, he said.
Geist also noted the category of bear activity has changed this year for Category I bears -- those that most pose a risk to human safety or property. The classification for Category I bears, he said, has been expanded to include bears that cause agricultural damage by either attacking "protected livestock" or "protected hives."
"'Protected' means livestock which are completely enclosed by properly installed and active electrified fencing, or otherwise enclosed in such a manner that reasonably prevents access by bears," Geist said. "Unprotected livestock & hive attacks (all incidents with less than the protected levels) have been moved to Category II.
Category I bears are targeted for euthanization as soon as possible, while Category II bears are aversely conditioned using buckshot, pyrotechnic charges and bear dogs to discourage them from returning to the same area.
Animal-rights activists and environmental groups have regularly protested the annual hunt and criticized Gov. Chris Christie's support of the hunt, saying killing the animals is neither humane nor an effective long-term solution to managing the Garden State's bear population.
More information on the bear hunt is available on the DEP's bear hunting season website.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.