328 Bears Confirmed Killed in State Hunt

The state’s first bear hunt in 33 years, prompted by rising numbers of run-ins with humans, ended with hunters taking about 10% of the state’s estimated bear population.

The six-day hunt ended with 328 confirmed kills -- 209 females and 119 males, state Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Martin McHugh said. Sixteen of them had been tagged as nuisance bears, he added.

Wildlife officials initially had hoped the state’s bear population, estimated at about 3,200, would be reduced by up to 500 bears, but McHugh said the hunt went as expected.