400 lb roadkill bear in WV

[Emily]

from the Charleston WV Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.com/News/200804180227
wildlife official calls WV black bears "generally very docile"!

Friday April 18, 2008
Bigger bears more common in W.Va., official says
by Jake Stump
Daily Mail Capitol Reporter
A towering 7-foot, 400-pound black bear found along Interstate 64 near Lewisburg might have been scary enough to cause a few shivers.

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Courtesy photo
State Division of Natural Resources biologist Scott Warner shows one of the larger black bear that have been found recently. The bigger bears are typically found in southern West Virginia.
But there are even bigger bears roaming the mountains of West Virginia, said Chris Ryan, black bear project leader with the state Division of Natural Resources.
Wildlife officials believe the 400-pounder was in search of food when it crossed the highway and was struck and killed.

DNR Cpl. Barry Kaiser called it the largest bear he's seen in his 29 years at the division.

Officials plan to donate meat from the animal to a spring bear dinner held in Williamsburg. There are also plans to mount the bear or make a rug out of it for display at The Greenbrier.

Ryan said it's not too unusual these days to see a bear in the 400-pound range or even larger.

"Over the last five years, we've caught a lot of them over 400 pounds," Ryan said.

The biggest one known to Ryan is a 575-pound bear the DNR discovered in Comfort, Boone County, in May 2003. Wildlife officials placed a radio collar on the bear as part of the agency's ongoing black bear monitoring and research project.

A bow hunter eventually killed the massive bruin in late 2003. It was among the top five largest bears ever killed in North America, Ryan said.

The DNR started its southern bear study in 1999 in Boone, Fayette, Kanawha and Raleigh counties to learn about bears and nuisance behaviors. A northern study area is centered in Randolph and Tucker counties.

Bears handled during nuisance calls are usually given orange ear tags for easy identification. The study is also used to determine harvest rates. Other bears caught on research trap lines are given black ear tags.

Gallery [+] Enlarge

Courtesy photo
State Division of Natural Resources biologist Scott Warner shows one of the larger black bear that have been found recently. The bigger bears are typically found in southern West Virginia.
The bear killed on I-64 last week had no tags or tattoos.
Ryan said the average weight of a male bear ranges between 200 and 250 pounds in southern West Virginia. In other parts of the state, they weigh closer to 150 to 200 pounds.

Ryan explained that winters in this area are milder, and that food sources are more predictable for bears. Those factors contribute to them weighing more than other bears across the state, he said.

Larger bears are also usually older. The 575-pound bear killed in 2003 was 12 years old. The average life span of a male bear is 3 to 4 years, Ryan said. Females usually live to 5 or 6.

Ryan said wildlife officials have been receiving nuisance calls in recent weeks.

"Generally, they're very docile," he said. "But bears are now coming to people's food sources, and we've been getting a lot of calls."

Ryan attributes up to 95 percent of the problem on people leaving trash, birdseed and pet food out in the open.

Last year, hunters in West Virginia harvested a record 1,807 bears.

Contact writer Jake Stump at jakest...@dailymail.com or 348-4842.

[Emily]

http://www.register-herald.com/local/lo ... 23622.html


Large black bear found in Greenbrier

Christian Giggenbach
Register-Herald Reporter
LEWISBURG — A 400-pound black bear found last Friday on I-64 is “the largest I’ve ever seen,” said Department of Natural Resources officer Cpl. Barry Kaiser Tuesday.

Kaiser said the male black bear was most likely hit by a vehicle Friday morning while attempting to cross I-64 about a mile-and-a half west of Lewisburg while searching for food. The bear weighed a total of 397 pounds and also weighed 262 pounds after being field dressed, Kaiser said. From head to toe, the bear measured seven feet in length.

“It’s the largest bear I’ve seen in my 29 years in the department,” Kaiser said. “And bears at this time of the year normally weigh less because they are just emerging from their dens after hibernating most of the winter. This is a huge bear.”

Kaiser said the animal had no identification marks, such as ear tags or tattoos, indicating it had not previously been trapped or tracked by DNR officials. Kaiser declined to guess the bear’s age, but has sent a tooth to state wildlife officials for official confirmation.

In 2006, there were 61 known bears killed on West Virginia roads and highways, according to DNR Wildlife Resources Section Chief Curtis Taylor.

State hunters harvested a record 1,807 bears in 2007 during archery and firearms seasons, which broke the old record of 1,730 set in 2003. Greenbrier County hunters accounted for 139 bears during last year’s season, ranking it third highest in the state. An average weight for bears harvested in the state ranges from 130 to 200 pounds.

The bear was skinned and processed at Bluegrass Meat in Caldwell and its meat will be donated to Williamsburg’s annual bear dinner held each spring, Kaiser said. Tentative plans are being made to have the bear mounted or possibly made into a rug to be shown at The Greenbrier.

— E-mail:

cgiggenbach@register-herald.com