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) »