New York State has a record year in 2025 for black bear harvest, the most in nearly 70 years.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced that hunters harvested an estimated 1,759 black bears during the 2025-26 hunting season.

New York saw a slight increase in bear harvests in the 2025 season, with hunters taking about 4% more bears than 2025 and 18% above the 10-year average.

The Southern Zone led the way with more than 1,200 bears, including the 10 heaviest recorded, while the Northern Zone total dipped slightly from 2024 but remained above average.

“The recovery and growth of New York’s bear population is testament to DEC’s vigilant wildlife management efforts,” said NYS DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton. “New York’s big game management plans help maintain populations at levels that are acceptable for local communities and provide sustainable hunting opportunities.”

State officials say the strong numbers reflect a decades-long expansion of the bear population, which has grown beyond remote regions like the Adirondacks, Catskills and Allegheny Mountains into new areas across the state.

The DEC says data came from successful bear hunters, as well as they physical examination of bears by DEC staff, cooperating taxidermists, and meat processors.

The state shared some data from the 2025 bear season:

74: The number of Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), out of 88 open to bear hunting, with reported 2025 bear harvests.

562 pounds: The dressed weight of the heaviest 2025 reported bear, harvested in the town of Olive, Ulster County, WMU 3C.

668: The number of harvested bears from which DEC received pre-molar teeth to determine the bear’s age in 2025.

26 years: The age of the oldest bear harvested in 2024 (the most recent year for which age data are available). The bear was harvested in the town Mooers, Clinton County, WMU 5A.

21: Bears harvested per 100 square miles in WMU 3C, the highest harvest density of any WMU for the 2025 seasons.

You can read the full report here: https://dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2026-03/2025BearHarvestSummaryReport.pdf