FREDON, N.J. (AP) — A hunter has shot and killed a nearly 700-pound bear on the first day of New Jersey's bear hunt.
NJ.com reports that a 39-year-old Hopatcong man brought the 693-pound bruin to the bear check station at the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area late on Monday afternoon.
State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese says that it may be the largest bear shot all week. He says that most of the bears killed Monday weighed between 150 and 300 pounds.
The largest bear ever reported shot in New Jersey was an 829-pound bear in the 2011 hunt.
