1999 Bear Harvest Report  

Mast decline leads to bow-harvest tie, rifle-harvest drop

Hunters harvested 993 black bears during the 1999 season in West Virginia, according to Bernie Dowler, chief of the W.Va. Division of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Section.

The 1999 harvest was second to the 1998 record of 1,082.

Bowhunters harvested 423 bears, tieing the 1997 record. The top five counties in bow harvests were Randolph (73), Tucker (38), Webster (36), Nicholas (35) and Kanawha (32).

Gun hunters harvested 570 bears in 1999, the second highest gun harvest on record. The top five counties in gun harvests were Greenbrier (95), Pocahontas (89), Nicholas (70), Randolph (62) and Tucker (45).

Dowler attributed the fluctuations to poor mast conditions.

"The poor mast conditions caused bears to travel greater distances to find food, making them more susceptible to bow hunters," Dowler said.

"However, the poor mast conditions that make bears more susceptible early in the season also caused them to enter their dens earlier. Therefore, the gun harvest was down slightly from 1998."

"With the growth of the bear population and the expansion into nontraditional range, the future looks bright for bears and bear hunting in West Virginia."

1999 WEST VIRGINIA BEAR HARVEST

 

Bow

Gun

Grand

County

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

Total

Traditional Counties

Grant

8

5

13

18

4

22

35

Greenbrier

15

14

29

66

29

95

124

Hardy

5

3

8

5

2

7

15

Mineral

1

3

4

3

4

7

11

Monroe

3

3

6

3

0

3

9

Pendleton

8

7

15

30

12

42

57

Pocahontas

20

6

26

59

30

89

115

Randolph

46

27

73

43

19

62

135

Tucker

24

14

38

27

18

45

83

Webster

27

9

36

29

15

44

80

Subtotal

157

91

248

283

133

416

664

New Dog Counties

Barbour

5

5

10

2

0

2

12

Boone

6

7

13

13

9

22

35

Fayette

11

10

21

11

6

17

38

Kanawha

18

14

32

17

13

30

62

Nicholas

22

13

35

38

32

70

105

Raleigh

2

4

6

3

6

9

15

Subtotal

64

53

117

84

66

150

267

Three-Day Counties

Braxton

2

2

4

0

0

0

4

Clay

1

2

3

0

0

0

3

Logan

3

1

4

0

0

0

4

Upshur

3

2

5

0

0

0

5

Subtotal

9

7

16

0

0

0

16

Six-Day Counties

Hampshire

3

0

3

0

0

0

3

Preston

15

14

29

2

2

4

33

Subtotal

18

14

32

2

2

4

36

Bow Only Counties

Logan

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

McDowell

6

1

7

0

0

0

7

Morgan

0

2

2

0

0

0

2

Wyoming

2

0

2

0

0

0

2

Subtotal

8

3

11

0

0

0

11

Grand Total

256

168

424

369

201

570

994