Virginia 2010-2011 Black Bear Harvest
In Virginia, 2221 bears were harvested during the 2010-2011 bear seasons representing the combined kill from archery, muzzleloader, and firearms. The 2010 harvest was a 3.6% decrease over last year's kill, but similar to the 2008 harvest of 2204 bears. In 2010, bears were harvested in 69 counties with successful bear hunters coming from 18 states other than Virginia. Equaling the average over the last 5 years, female bears represented 39% of the 2010 harvest, which was less than the 42% females in the 2009 harvest.
Archery hunters accounted for 423 bears during 2010 and 19% of the total harvest. Even though this was the second year of two extra weeks of statewide opportunity for bowhunters, the archery kill was much less than the numbers taken in 2009 (1017 bears) and 2008 (517 bears, before the season was extended). In the last 5 years, the archery harvest has averaged 29% of the total harvest. As happens during excellent mast years like 2010, archery success decreased compared to the past two very poor mast years. Crossbow hunters accounted for 38% of the total archery kill (5-year average 40%). The harvest from the archery season was composed of 41% females compared to 44% in 2009, and the 5-year average of 40% females. The top three archery counties were Rockingham (31), Augusta (26) and Bedford (17). The counties of Bath, Botetourt, Giles, Grayson, Rockbridge and Tazewell all had the next highest archery kill of 14 bears per county.
Expanded muzzleloader opportunities during the last two years resulted in similar muzzleloader harvests with the 2010 (355 bears) and 2009 (356 bears) seasons. The 2010 muzzleloader harvest accounted for 16% of the total harvest. The muzzleloader female harvest was 41% of the muzzleloader kills (51% in 2009, 5-year average of 45% females). A total of 43 counties reported at least one muzzleloader season kill. The top four muzzleloading counties were Augusta (28), Rockingham (27), Rockbridge (20) and Fauquier (19). The counties of Bath, Botetourt, and Nelson all had the next highest muzzleloader kill of 17 bears per county.
Representing 66% of the total harvest (similar to the 5-year average of 63%), the 2010 firearms season yielded 1443 bears, an increase from the 2009 firearms harvest of 931 bears but a decrease from the 2008 firearms harvest of 1592 bears. Hound hunters accounted for 56% of the firearms kill in 2010, which was an increase over the portions that occurred in 2008 (47%) and 2009 (48%), and the 5-year average of 50%. General firearms hunters who did not use hounds harvested 41% females (42% in 2009, and 5-year average of 42% females), while hound hunters harvested 36% females (30% in 2009, 5-year average of 33% females).The top five general firearms counties were Rockingham (128), Bath (115), Augusta (89), Highland (87) and Nelson (87).
As occurred during last year's 2009-2010 seasons when snowy weather and poor mast conditions resulted in an unusual distribution of the harvest, there will always be annual seasonal harvest fluctuations due to environmental factors. However, the 2010-2011 seasons represented a very typical harvest year and reinforce the fact that Virginia continues to maintain a high and healthy population of bears.
Virginia Counties with the Greatest Bear Harvest
| County | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham | 162 | 165 | 200 | 176 | 186 |
| Bath | 75 | 60 | 120 | 93 | 146 |
| Augusta | 124 | 77 | 105 | 129 | 143 |
| Nelson | 49 | 59 | 97 | 92 | 115 |
| Highland | 52 | 65 | 132 | 81 | 114 |
| Botetourt | 61 | 66 | 103 | 120 | 104 |
| Rockbridge | 69 | 80 | 104 | 100 | 104 |
| Alleghany | 114 | 64 | 131 | 87 | 103 |
| Shenandoah | 91 | 72 | 81 | 99 | 75 |
| Craig | 66 | 42 | 66 | 41 | 68 |
| Madison | 89 | 76 | 108 | 85 | 67 |
| Albemarle | 63 | 78 | 82 | 96 | 67 |
| Page | 90 | 82 | 123 | 130 | 61 |
Virginia Black Bear Harvest
