Where did all the black bears go?

Black bear sightings in New Jersey fell by nearly two-thirds in 2017, to levels not seen since the species was rebounding in the early 1980s, according to new state data.

The plunge in bear activity is a sign that the state's bear population has either seriously shrunk or become more timid, depending on who you ask.

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With 11 days left in the year, only 261 sightings of the state's largest mammal were reported in 2017, according to the annual Bear Activity Report from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. That compares to 722 in 2016 and an average of 852 in the seven years before that.

The precipitous decline in the number of bear spottings is proof that the state Division of Fish and Wildlife's management plan — including a controversial hunting season — is reducing the amount of interaction between bears and people, said Robert Geist, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Encounters in all three categories — from aggression to nuisances to simply seeing a bear — are dramatically down.

That's because the state's Bear Response Unit is relocating bears who wander into neighborhoods and hunters are killing bears who aren't fearful enough of humans, Geist told the Asbury Park Press.

These two influences combine together to leave a population that prefers not to cross paths with mankind.

"Potentially dangerous and nuisance bears that are considered a threat to public safety and property are being harvested," he said. "The reduction among all three categories provides additional evidence we are achieving our goal of reducing population at a level commensurate with available habitat as well as reducing complaints."

For more on bear hunting season, which ended earlier this month, watch the video at the top of the page.

Angi Metler, executive director fo the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, doesn't believe that logic.

Metler is a frequent critic of what she says is a bear management program that is solely focused on hunting.

Without prioritizing education and enforcement that encourages homeowners in bear country to be "bear-smart" — restricting birdfeeders and fruit trees, using bear-resistant trash cans — it's impossible to get the results the state is claiming, she said.

Echoing an argument put forward by the New Jersey Sierra Club, Metler points to the 1970s, when there were fewer than 100 black bears in the entire state.

"I think if you kill every bear in New Jersey then you’re not going to get any complaints (about bears), are you?” Metler said.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com, @russzimmer