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STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT WILDLIFE DIVISION

12 December 2017
Bear Season Update Final

The 2017 New Hampshire bear season concluded at 572 bears which was 25% below the preceding 5-year average of 764 bears. Additionally, this year’s harvest was down 36% from 2016 level when a record harvest was achieved. The harvest consisted of 312 males and 260 females resulting in an overall harvest sex ratio of 1.2 males per female. Method-specific harvest sex ratios included 1.4 m:f for bait, 0.9 m:f for hound and 1.1 m:f for still hunters.
A breakdown by region and method follows:

Interpretation of harvest data and ages of ha

North Region	WMUs	A, B, C2, D1
	Total Harvest	99 bears (52 females, 47 males)
	Harvest by method (# bears)	Bait (79), Hound (10), Still (10)
	5-year average annual harvest (2012-2016)	154 bears
White Mountains Region	WMUs	C1, D2, E, F
	Total Harvest	169 bears (67 females, 102 males)
	Harvest by method (# bears)	Bait (95), Hound (41), Still (33)
	5-year average annual harvest (2012-2016)	226 bears
Central Region	WMUs	G, I1, J1, J2
	Total Harvest	192 bears (92 females, 100 males)
	Harvest by method (# bears)	Bait (88), Hound (46), Still (58)
	5-year average annual harvest (2012-2016)	253 bears
Southwest-1 Region	WMUs	H1, I2
	Total Harvest	64 bears (29 females, 35 males)
	Harvest by method (# bears)	Bait (32), Hound (10), Still (22)
	5-year average annual harvest (2012-2016)	79 bears
Southwest-2 Region	WMUs	H2, K
	Total Harvest	46 bears (20 females, 26 males)
	Harvest by method (# bears)	Bait (27), Still (19)
	5-year average annual harvest (2012-2016)	51 bears
Southeast Region	WMUs	L, M
	Total Harvest	2 bears (both males)
	Harvest by method (# bears)	Still (2)
	5-year average annual harvest (2012-2016)	3 bears

rvested bears will be complete and available by mid-winter.

2017 Bear Harvest Tally Compared to Previous 5 Years
2012 SUM	2013 SUM	2014 SUM	2015 SUM	2016 SUM	2017 SUM
812	572	786	754	898	572