[gundog]

either sex and any age wow. coupled with the fact that they can use almost any weapon including vehicle, this suggests to me that there is a real population problem with bears...NJ hunters you know what you need to do!

This may also reflect the difficulties involved in aging and sexing bears in the field. Safety first.

[vetvetdoug]

Plothounds would be an asset for the bear hunters. Maybe the bear hunters will get a few rabbits while they are at it.

[ConservativeDude]

good point.

my understnaind of bears is that if they show some spirit, they are male, otherwise hard to say....similarly size, ie, age, is actually very difficult to discern and usual indicators (ears for example) are deceptive...of course if you are close enough to see some spirit and guess at age, chances are it might be too late...oops! you are right this could be a well thought out safety issue.