SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources reports bear hunters killed 2,682 black bears during the combined 2013 hunting seasons.
The figure is nearly identical to the 2012 harvest of 2,691 bears. It’s the fourth time in five years the number of bears killed in the state exceeded 2,000. It’s also the second highest number of bears every killed in a year in West Virginia.
Figures show 851 bears were killed with a bow. Wyoming County hunters killed 75 to lead the way. Hunters in Fayette, Raleigh, Logan, and Randolph were the top five counties for bear hunting with a bow.
The gun seasons, both with and without dogs, accounted for 1,831 bears. Hunters killed 679 in the September and October seasons. Another 361 were killed during the season which ran simultaneously with the buck season for deer. The traditional December season where hunters mailing follow dogs yielded 791 bears.
“Decreased mast conditions statewide allowed archers to pattern bears effectively and led to an increased archery harvest. Decreased mast conditions also led to a decline in the December firearms season harvest.” said Paul Johansen, Assistant Chief for Game Management at the Division of Natural Resources. “The 2013 Mast Survey and Hunting Outlook documented the lowest statewide oak index in the survey’s history. However, oak mast was present in localized areas and was reported as most common in the higher elevations of the eastern mountains. An abundant beech and hickory crop statewide allowed the index for all hard mast to fall just 16 percent below the 42-year average.”
Johansen believed the combined effects of hunting for bears in September and October along with the concurrent hunting during deer season offset a sharp decline in the harvest during the traditional December season.
The top five counties for gun hunting were Randolph County where 245 were killed. Pendleton County was second with 201 bears. Greenbrier, Webster, and Pocahontas Counties rounded out the top five.
|
2013 WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEAR HARVEST |
|||||
|
County |
Archery |
Sept/Oct |
Buck Gun |
December |
Total |
|
Barbour |
22 |
10 |
9 |
5 |
46 |
|
Brooke |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Hancock |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Harrison |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
Marion |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Marshall |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Monongalia |
7 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
|
Ohio |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Preston |
46 |
35 |
26 |
24 |
131 |
|
Taylor |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
Tucker |
11 |
43 |
10 |
44 |
108 |
|
Wetzel |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Dist. I Subtotal |
97 |
88 |
48 |
74 |
307 |
|
Berkeley |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Grant |
7 |
27 |
11 |
45 |
90 |
|
Hampshire |
20 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
35 |
|
Hardy |
17 |
51 |
26 |
29 |
123 |
|
Jefferson |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
Mineral |
7 |
8 |
2 |
5 |
22 |
|
Morgan |
7 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
|
Pendleton |
19 |
65 |
29 |
107 |
220 |
|
Dist. II Subtotal |
82 |
151 |
84 |
189 |
506 |
|
Braxton |
14 |
8 |
9 |
17 |
48 |
|
Clay |
13 |
14 |
2 |
8 |
37 |
|
Lewis |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
7 |
|
Nicholas |
35 |
39 |
26 |
45 |
145 |
|
Pocahontas |
9 |
52 |
5 |
74 |
140 |
|
Randolph |
52 |
87 |
17 |
141 |
297 |
|
Upshur |
2 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
18 |
|
Webster |
44 |
44 |
24 |
66 |
178 |
|
Dist. III Subtotal |
172 |
250 |
92 |
356 |
870 |
|
Fayette |
61 |
23 |
29 |
25 |
138 |
|
Greenbrier |
29 |
43 |
17 |
91 |
180 |
|
McDowell |
51 |
13 |
0 |
10 |
74 |
|
Mercer |
27 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
32 |
|
Monroe |
28 |
14 |
12 |
7 |
61 |
|
Raleigh |
58 |
19 |
21 |
5 |
103 |
|
Summers |
10 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
18 |
|
Wyoming |
75 |
16 |
0 |
3 |
94 |
|
Dist. IV Subtotal |
339 |
128 |
87 |
146 |
700 |
|
Boone |
45 |
28 |
30 |
13 |
116 |
|
Cabell |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Kanawha |
29 |
19 |
20 |
10 |
78 |
|
Lincoln |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
Logan |
52 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
63 |
|
Mason |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Mingo |
26 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Putnam |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wayne |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Dist. V Subtotal |
156 |
62 |
50 |
25 |
293 |
|
Calhoun |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Doddridge |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Gilmer |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Jackson |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Pleasants |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ritchie |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
Roane |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Tyler |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wirt |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wood |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dist. VI Subtotal |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
|
State Total |
851 |
679 |
361 |
791 |
2682 |