Black Bear Advocacy

ACTION FOR BEARS

Bear advocacy is critical to ensure bears are permanently protected. Our education efforts will continue until all residents become Bear Smart champions. But we also need more activists to fight for bears! Please share this information with everyone you know.

Any estimate of the bear population by the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife is flawed. Mortality based methods for estimating the bear population is not reliable and has no level of confidence.

APLNJ's 2022 lawsuit resulted in the New Jersey court ruling that the adoption of the 2022 emergency bear hunt violated state law, effectively stating that the hunt should not have taken place. While this ruling exposed the ruse, it came too late for the 114 bears killed in December 2022.

Click here to see what we've been doing for the bears and how you can help.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

1954 – 2017: An Historical Perspective of Black Bears in New Jersey

In 1954, New Jersey’s black bears were classified as a game species.

The first of 13 regulated hunts began in 1958 when the population estimate was 56-71. In 1971, the hunting season was closed because the population declined to less than 25 due to regulated hunting. In 1981, an effort by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to introduce 50 bears from Pennsylvania into the Pinelands and swamps in 1980-81 failed because of protests from farmers.

In 1982, the DFW started monitoring the black bear population more carefully to eventually reopen the season. In 1988, when the DFW estimated the bear population to be around 150, plans were announced to open a new season. This plan met with severe opposition and the first Black Bear Protection Bill was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature, a bill that would statutorily protect black bears. The DFW halted their plans to reopen a black bear season, but remained committed to this pursuit.

In March 2000, the DFW formally announced a black bear hunting plan in the proposed game code. Within 3 days of this announcement, the legislature re-introduced the dormant Black Bear Protection Bill. During the next 6 months, over 1,000,000 New Jersey residents urged Governor Whitman to suspend the hunt. At the 11th hour, the Governor asked the Fish and Game Council to vote to suspend the hunt, and the Council complied.

In 2003, black bears were added into the Game Code as a game species (after having not been hunted for over 30 years) and a hunt ensued that year. A hunt was halted in 2004 by the action of the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

BEAR HUNTS:

do nothing to protect public safety
do nothing to prevent incidences and complaints
are recreational trophy hunts
the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the New Jersey Fish and Game Council, and bear hunters should be held liable for any incidences involving black bears because they have failed to support and implement Bear Smart initiatives.

WHAT DOES WORK:

Public Education – people need to know how to behave responsibly in bear habitats
Garbage Containment
Attractant Control

For more information about solutions, please visit BearSmartNJ.org.

LIVING WITH BLACK BEARS

Truth about black bears

Native people thought of them as healers. Environmentalists recognize them as an integral part of a healthy eco-system. Many in northern New Jersey see them as the majestic symbol of the New Jersey Highlands. We see them as a timid and much maligned animal.

And as with many things, the more we understand, the less we fear. So here are some facts about black bears:

Black bears are flight animals. When given a choice between fighting or fleeing, they flee—typically up the nearest tree until danger passes.
Mother black bears send their cubs up trees as a way to protect them.
Bear cubs stay with their mother until they are two years old.
Black bears sometimes exhibit “bluff behavior.” When threatened, they may slap the ground or charge a short distance before fleeing. This is done in an attempt to frighten off another bear or human who has come too close. When frightened, bears may also snort or clack their mouths.
Black bears are among North America’s slowest reproducing land mammals.
New Jersey’s bear population was all but wiped out by hunting in the 1970’s. Their population has only recently recovered.

Can humans and black bears peacefully coexist?

“Yes,” says bear expert Lynn Rogers, Ph.D., of the North American Bear Center. Rogers is a wildlife biologist who has studied bears for 40 years. You may have seen him on the one-hour Animal Planet special, “The Man Who Walks with Bears.” He is recognized around the world as the leading expert in bear behavior.

Rogers maintains that one of the safest places to be is in the woods with black bears. Why? Because black bears are typically not aggressive toward humans. When threatened, their first instinct is to run away or climb a tree. The claws of black bears are strong for climbing trees, but not sharp for holding prey. They are primarily vegetarian. Unlike grizzly bears, mother black bears do not defend their cubs against people. Rogers and his colleagues have routinely tagged black bear cubs in the presence of their mothers.

According to Rogers, you are…

45 times more likely to be killed by a dog
247 times more likely to be killed by lightning
120 times more likely to be killed by a bee
60,000 times more likely to be murdered by another human being, than to be killed by a black bear.

So if you see a bear, enjoy the experience!

YOU CAN'T IGNORE THE EVIDENCE

Major Report: Baiting the Black Bear

There are two American wildlife traditions. This report is dedicated to the memory of pioneer preservationists William Temple Hornaday, Rosalie Edge, and John Muir, whose contributions have been obscured, and exploited, by the “interlocking” forces — firearms manufacturers, allied conservationists, and game departments — they exposed and fought against.

The hunting of black bear (Ursus americanus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) over bait is an overlooked yet critical component of New Jersey’s black bear management program. Baiting for deer or bear changes the behavior of bears and leads to food conditioning and habituation to humans.

Artificial feeding contributes to potential conflicts and property damage, alterations in bear behavior and foraging habits, increased or sustained reproductive rate, physical size, distribution, and numbers.

Baiting has significant negative impacts on a wide range of non-target species, and contributes to forest degeneration, predation on ground-nesting birds, the spread of disease and invasive plants, increased illegal activity, and increased automobile-deer collisions. Read biologist Tom Eveland’s literature review here: Baiting the Black Bear

Our Urban Wildlife Series takes an in-depth look at black bear management and the issues surrounding it.

The first report in the Series takes a look at Bear Smart legislation and management solutions.

The second report, exposes the reasons behind the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s reluctance to embrace Bear Smart community programs and its continued push for bear hunts.

In 2005, Rutgers’ professor, Edward A. Tavvs, produced a report studying the correlation of the reduction in nuisance black bear complaints with implementation of a hunt vs. a non-lethal program.

The hunting approach was investigated by reviewing data from four U.S. states (Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, as well as the province of Ontario, Canada). The non-lethal program was investigated by reviewing data from three U.S. national parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite and Great Smoky) and three communities bordering national parks (Juneau [Alaska], Elliot Lake [Ontario, Canada] and the Lake Tahoe Basin [Nevada]), as well as the state of New Jersey.

The Tavvs study proves conclusively that hunting black bears does not result in decreasing complaints. In fact, it correlates with increasing complaints. The non-lethal approach, focusing on garbage control results in decreasing complaints. View the report here.

BE A BEAR SMART COMMUNITY

Bear Smart New Jersey was inspired by the desire to offer communities the means to reduce human/bear interactions, to educate the public on the true nature of bears and to create an environment where bears and people can peacefully co-exist.

SAMANTHA

Samantha (1981–2012), a beloved New Jersey black bear who will always be remembered. Her bright eyes and her gentle ways will be missed.

In 1981, a black bear later named Samantha was born in Wawayanda State Park in Sussex County, NJ. The little bear was seen walking with her mother, climbing trees, and feeding on acorns. After a homeowner whose house borders Wawayanda noticed the little bear sleeping in a tree in her front yard, the family innocently began putting out apples for the bear (APLNJ does not condone feeding bears). From time to time, the bear came back and the family named her Samantha. This was the beginning of a special relationship and bond the family shared with her.

From the start, Samantha was teaching her human family about black bears. The family learned first hand about the black bears’ timid and gentle nature. They also witnessed bluff charges if they got too close. Samantha visited only a few times each year, preferring to spend most of her time deep in the woods, eating natural food. From 1995 to 2000, Samantha was our education mascot. Her face donned the covers of newsletters, lawn signs and ads. In 2000, when the first official hunt was proposed by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, we stopped using Samantha’s image in order to protect her.

Samantha lived her entire life as nature intended, free from the violence of hunting. She lived in the deep woods of Wawayanda State Park, among the glacial rocks and steep ridges. She was an amazing ambassador for bears, holding onto her territory and being a good mother. Samantha was loved by the many humans who had the opportunity and delight to know her in her natural habitat.

She passed away in February 2012 at 31 years of age. In the wild, the lifespan of a black bear is from 25 to 30 years. Today, bear hunts make it unlikely that most of New Jersey’s black bears will reach old age.

Our Bear Smart community outreach program teaches New Jersey residents about bears and fosters a peaceful coexistence, replacing fear with respect and understanding. We hope that all bears live out their natural life span as Samantha did, in harmony with people.

To learn more about becoming Bear Smart, please visit Bear Smart NJ.

SAMANTHA’S STATUE

In 2014, in Vernon, NJ APLNJ held the unveiling and dedication ceremony of a life-size statue in honor of Samantha.

Samantha was beautifully sculpted by lifelong Vernon resident and artist, Gary Adamkovich. The statue is on permanent display in front of the Vernon Township Municipal Building. At the base of the statue, sculpted tiles represent local indigenous animal and plant species.

During the ceremony, the donors who made this gift possible were recognized as well as the sculptor, the Department of Public Works for moving her, and the Vernon Town Council for their support and approval.

Please enjoy the pictures of this wonderful event by visiting Samantha’s Facebook page.