Virginia 2008-2009 Black Bear Harvest
In Virginia, 2204 bears were harvested during the 2008-09 bear seasons representing the combined kill from archery, muzzleloader, and firearms. The 2008 harvest was 35% higher than the previous state record of 1633 bears from 2006 and 45% greater than the 2007 harvest. In 2008, bears were harvested in 64 counties, including a few counties that have never had a bear legally harvested. Successful bear hunters came from 17 other states and one other country. West Virginia also had a record bear harvest during 2008.
The muzzleloader season accounted for 95 bears which were about 4% of the harvest and a decrease from the previous 5-year average of 7% of the harvest. The top five muzzleloading counties were Page (25), Madison (13), Rappahannock (10), Rockingham (7), and Shenandoah (6).
With a harvest of 517 bears during 2008, archery hunters accounted for 23% of the total harvest similar to the previous 5-year average of 25%. The top five archery counties were Rockingham (52), Page (45), Augusta (27), Shenandoah (25), and Warren (22).
The 2008 firearms season accounted for 73% (1592 bears) of the harvest which is an increase over the previous 5-year average of 65% of the harvest. Similar to the 5-year average where hound hunters account for 35% of the total harvest and 50% of the total firearms kill, hound hunters harvested 34% of the total kill and 47% of firearms kill during 2008. The top five firearms counties were Rockingham (141), Alleghany (116) Highland (112), Bath (112), and Nelson (88).
The 2008 female bear harvest was over 40% of the total harvest and up from the 5-year average of 37%. The female proportion of the harvest increased for all segments of the bear season. Muzzleloaders had a female harvest of 46% (5-year average, 42%) and archers had a female harvest of 38% (5-year average, 37%).
General firearms hunters who did not use hounds harvested over 45% females (5-year average, 39%), while hound hunters harvested only 34% females (5-year average, 32%).
Virginia Counties with the Highest Bear Harvest
| County | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockingham | 147 | 153 | 162 | 165 | 200 |
| Highland | 52 | 49 | 52 | 65 | 132 |
| Alleghany | 79 | 87 | 114 | 64 | 131 |
| Page | 75 | 57 | 90 | 82 | 123 |
| Bath | 70 | 55 | 75 | 60 | 120 |
| Madison | 53 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 108 |
| Augusta | 69 | 84 | 124 | 77 | 105 |
| Rockbridge | 23 | 62 | 69 | 80 | 104 |
| Botetourt | 39 | 61 | 61 | 66 | 103 |
| Nelson | 38 | 45 | 49 | 59 | 97 |
| Albemarle | 56 | 64 | 63 | 78 | 82 |
| Shenandoah | 61 | 57 | 91 | 72 | 81 |
| View 2008-2009 black bear harvest data for all Virginia counties (PDF) » | |||||