Joe Rogan on wildlife: what the evidence says · JRE #2262
SUBJECT: WILDLIFE
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
You know what has the state has the largest population per capita of black bears in the country? Wyoming, Manhattan? New Jersey. No way. Yep, New Jersey. New Jersey. New Jersey has an infestation of black bears.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
New Jersey is well known for high localized black bear density, but the claim that it leads the nation is not supported. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reports densities of as high as 2 to 3 bears per square mile in specific areas of the state's northwestern counties, which is striking given that New Jersey is the most human-dense state, but that figure applies to localized prime habitat, not the whole state. On a statewide basis, other states rank higher: Maine has roughly 25,000 bears, the largest population in the eastern United States, at an average near one bear per square mile, and Pennsylvania and Alaska also exceed New Jersey on statewide density or total numbers. Bear abundance is measured per unit of land area rather than per human resident (per capita), so the framing is imprecise, and while New Jersey does have a large and locally concentrated bear population, it is not the densest or largest per area in the country.