TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey's latest bear hunt is underway.
State wildlife officials say hunters killed 36 bears on Monday, with nearly half culled in Sussex County.
That's slightly more than the 26 that were killed on the first day of the hunt in 2017.
The six-day hunt starts just before sunrise each day.
The first three days are reserved for bow hunting, while both hunting with bows and muzzle-loading guns will be allowed during the last three days.
The number of bears culled is expected to be greatly reduced following an order by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy that bars black bear hunting on state-owned lands.
His order removes from the hunt roughly 40 percent of the lands where bears were hunted over the past eight years.
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