STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT WILDLIFE DIVISION

6 November 2023   

As of November 6th, 596 bear (333 males, 263 females) have been reported to the bear project.  Bait hunters have harvested 452 bears (261 males, 191 females), hound hunters have harvested 49 bears (19 Males, 30 females), and still hunters have taken 95 bears (53 males, 42 females). It is important to note that this harvest data is based off registration slips that have been submitted to Concord as of November 6th, and not a true representation of harvest at this date due to lag time of registration forms coming in from around the state. The current overall harvest sex ratio is 1.2 males per female.  Method-specific harvest sex ratios are 1.3 m:f for bait hunters, 1.2 m:f for still hunters, and 0.6 m:f for hound hunters.

Regionally, 163 bears (81 males, 82 females) have been taken in the North, 133 (77 males, 56 females) in the White Mountains, 154 (89 males, 65 females) in the Central, 87 (55 males, 32 females) in Southwest-1, 47 (24 males, 23 females) in Southwest-2, and 12 (7 males, 5 females) in the Southeast region. 

Below is a breakdown of the bear harvest through November 6th for the past 6 years.  Currently, this year’s harvest is running 40% behind the 5-year in-season average of 993 bears, and 48% behind the 2022 tally (1141 bears) at this point in the season.  This season’s low harvest continues to track similar to previous years with good fall food abundance. Again, please note that these numbers are preliminary and only represent the number of bear registration forms that arrived in Concord by 11/6.

With the fairly mild weather conditions we have experienced lately, bear will likely remain active in areas where food availability is good. It is expected that deer hunters will continue to have the ability to opportunistically harvest bear where seasons remain open. However, it is not expected that harvest numbers will change significantly between now and the end of the bear season. 

Hound hunting season for bear will close tomorrow (11/7), along with the still hunting portion of the season in the North, SW-1, and SW-2 regions. The still hunting season will continue through November 30th in the White Mountains, Central, and Southeast regions.

Thank you to everyone for promptly submitting registration slips.  Please continue to submit all bear registration slips and premolars with deer data mailings during the rest of the 2023 bear season. Your continued effort is much appreciated.