| |
|
Photo credit: Joe Hughes
|
Due to abundant agricultural crops and more stable food resources, the average weights of Coastal bears exceeds those of Mountain bears each year. During the 2008 black bear season, North Carolina produced 34 bears in excess of 500 pounds on the Coast and 1 bear over 500 pounds in the Mountains.
The Coastal region continues to develop a reputation for trophy-quality bears. Similar to white-tailed deer, black bears must reach a certain age level in order to gain the trophy weights sought by many hunters.
Top ten bear weights recorded by NCWRC during the bear hunting seasons in North Carolina, 1969-2011.
Click on chart for larger view of chart.
The figures below demonstrates how WRC biologists can monitor and evaluate bear population age structures to assess the potential for the region to continue to produce quality bears.
Click on chart for larger view of chart.
Click on chart for larger view of chart.