Towson man kills first bear of Maryland's 2011 controlled hunt

A 33-year-old Towson man was the first hunter to kill a black bear on the opening day of the state's controlled hunt. James Deriu killed a 72-pound male at around 7:25 a.m. Monday in McHenry, about 30 minutes after the hunt officially opened.

A total of 28 bears were killed Monday, according to Harry Spiker, bear biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The hunt will continue until the quota of between 55 and 80 bears have been killed, but won't go past Saturday, Spiker said.

The largest bear killed Monday was a 343-pound male. It was shot by David Ford of Sunderland. The youngest hunter to kill a bear was 12-year-old Cody Adkins of Riverdale, who killed a 200-pound female.

Spiker said that all the bears were killed in Garrett County on Monday. The number of bears killed was about the average for the first day since the state re-instituted the hunt in 2004.

-- Don Markus