NY DEC:
As it stands now, deer harvest reports seem to be on par with last year at this time. We started out with reported deer take through mid-November running about 5% less than last year. Then reports during the first week of the Southern Zone regular season were slow, near 20% less than the opening week in 2010. But hunters did well Thanksgiving week, and currently reports are tracking very close to reported take in 2010. At this point, we are just tracking harvest reports and aren't yet calculating the total harvest. That will come after the January deer season closes on Long Island and after we review all the data from our field checks of harvested deer.
For bears, this season has shaped up to be quite different from last year, with preliminary harvests down in the Northern Zone but at record levels in the Southern Zone. Bear hunting was expanded into eastern New York this year, with the newly opened area spanning from Westchester County to Washington County. Hunters in the new areas have taken over 40 bears so far. Even without these additional bears, the preliminary take in southeastern New York (DEC Regions 3 and 4) looks like it could be one of the top harvests. In central and western New York (DEC Regions 7, 8, and 9), we're on track to top 300 bears, which will shatter the previous record of 189 bears taken in 2008.
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