I run almost a dozen trail cameras, generally around the Stamford, NY area, in preparation for deer season each year. I’ve gotten black bears on camera before, but this year (2025) I seemed to have at least one bear on every camera. It got me thinking. Are black bear populations increasing in our area?
Before I answer that question, take a look at some of these bears!
This bear took a peek… and a swipe… at my camera!
I read the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2023 Black Bear Harvest Summary report and learned some interesting things. Hunters harvested 1,356 bears that year, 485 from the Northern Zone and 871 from the Southern Zone. This was below the 5- and 10-year bear harvest averages (1,450 and 1,484, respectively). I learned that bear population expansion in the Southern Zone peaked in the early 2000s and that the bear harvest density in 2023 (3 bears per 100 square miles) hadn’t changed much in a few years, suggesting that bear populations in the Southern Zone had begun to stabilize.
The black bear harvest density in the Wildlife Management Units I hunt (4O and 4 P) was somewhere on the order of 2.6 to 5.0 bears per 100 square miles. DEC’s black bear population management goal for 4O was to maintain a generally moderate population density, while the goal for 4P was to reduce the population from its current level.
So, there you have it. Black bear populations have been expanding for a while in my area, but recent evidence (bear harvest density) suggests that the population is stabilizing. I look forward to checking out the 2025 Black Bear Harvest Summary report in due time to see if this trend continues.
Some other interesting findings and resources:
- DEC’s webpage on black bears suggested that there are approximately 2,300 black bears in the Catskill region in areas open to hunting.
- Take Teatown’s Black Bear Aware Quiz
- Hudson Valley Viewfinder Magazine article by ML Ball about an increase in black bear sightings east of the Hudson River.
