Bear hunters bag nearly 600 bruins in weeklong hunt

FREDON — The final day of the state's bear hunt brought more than 160 protesters to the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area, where a handful of hunters brought their kills to be weighed and measured.

The weeklong hunt, allowed by the state to manage the estimated population of 3,400 bears in northwestern New Jersey, saw 562 bears killed through early Saturday evening, state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Larry Ragonese said.