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New Hampshire Hunters Kill 14 Percent More Deer Than In 2010

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Hunters killed more than 11,000 deer this hunting season — a 14 percent increase over last year — but bear hunters did not fare so well, New Hampshire officials said Tuesday.

Hunters killed 418 bears — a 41 percent drop from last year, New Hampshire Fish and Game officials said.

N.H. Fish and Game bear biologist Andrew Timmins said the decline in bears killed is partially a reflection of several dramatically higher harvests in recent years.

"We have seen record bear harvests in New Hampshire during five of the last eight years,'' Timmins said. "Some years have been abnormally high, which greatly influences averages and complicates comparisons to previous years.''

"While the 2011 harvest may seem low, it actually is a more average year than some we've had recently,'' Timmins said.

Hunters killed more than 700 bears in each of the last two years. The 418 bears bagged by hunters this year is the lowest number since the 2006 hunting season, when 352 bears were killed.

Timmins said a low bear harvest helps offset the high numbers of the past two years and helps wildlife officials maintain their target population of about 500 bears statewide.

Hunting season ended Dec. 15 — the last day of archery deer season.

New Hampshire has an estimated 85,000 deer, and this year's hunting season reduced the population by about 13 percent, officials said. Preliminary figures show a total of 11,167 deer were harvested this year.

Hunters in Hillsborough County bagged the most deer — 2,071, followed by hunters in Rockingham County who bagged 1,867 deer.

State wildlife biologists said the higher deer harvest this year indicates the deer population is recovering from a series of bad winters that thinned the deer population.

Officials estimate that 60,000 people hunt in New Hampshire — boosting the state's economy by $75 million in hunting-related expenses.

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