Bear season extended, sightings up

CHURCHVILLE — Facing a black bear population still surging despite a record-setting season by Virginia bear hunters last year, state wildlife officials this week voted to extend bear hunting season in the 11-county region including Augusta County.

Bear hunters last year broke their own 2006 record, taking in more than 2,200 bears.

“Despite that, our population is still growing,” said David Kocka, district wildlife biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

For more than a decade, the Virginia bear population has grown at an annual rate of 3 to 5 percent, Kocka said, putting the hungry mammal in increasing contact with humans. The DGIF board of directors extended bear season by about three weeks, varying by region, as recommended by biologists and supported by a year of public comment.

“It will take a couple of years of pretty aggressive bear harvest to start to stabilize that population,” Kocka said.

Waynesboro police this week fielded three bear sighting calls in as many days on the city’s east side. Sgt. Kelly Walker said none went beyond typical summer calls, which frequently put bears at the scene of shredded trash bags, mangled bird feeders and empty pet food bowls.

But in Churchville, two attacks on pet goats left their owner with bears on the brain.

“Every noise I heard I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s back’,” said Jan Harman, who found bear tracks surrounding her chicken coop and goat pen Sunday morning, shortly after her goats disappeared.

“We bottle-fed them,” Harman said, remembering Noah and Belle, her 110-pound Nigerian dwarf goats.

A black bear, previously spotted by neighbors, first struck under stealth of night Tuesday — amid a storm — nabbing Noah without leaving a trace. Belle disappeared overnight Saturday.

“This time he left tracks,” Harman said, walking along a squashed chainlink fence and pointing to drag marks beneath a tunnel of broken branches where the bear plowed through bushes and short trees. Harman measured prints at 5 inches across.

Harman said wild animals have been a common part of life for more than 10 years on her sparsely populated road near George Washington National Forest. But the attack was brazen.

“Now I’m worried,” Harman said. “Now I’ve got a bear.”

After talking with Harman, Kocka chose not to intervene with her hungry bear, opting to send an informational DVD to share with neighbors. He said the bear will lose interest in the home if food does not remain available.

Bear calls come daily into Kocka’s Verona office, which serves 11 counties. Most are handled with the same advice: keep control of food sources. Bears are rarely trapped and relocated.

“This time of year, people are going to see bears,” Kocka said. “They’re a large animal that eats a lot and they’re driven by this big nose.”

Breeding bears are on the move in summer and cubs grow into new home areas, which can increase bear visibility. Bears live throughout the state, Kocka said, but his district accounts for at least 40 percent of bear hunting.

New regulations still permit only one bear catch per hunter per year, but seasons will be longer. Archery hunters will have two more weeks to target bears, muzzleloaders will have two additional days — six added days for hunting west of Interstate 81 — and rifle season will extend by less than a week. New regulations, which last two years, will be posted at the DGIF website.

Harman promises to call Kocka again at first sight of a black bear. She worries about neighbors’ puppies and her chickens and keeps hearing mentions of bears.

Hours after the bear dragged Belle away, Harman began her daily crossword puzzle, only for insult to be added to her injury. The first clue: “Fuzzy wuzzy was … .”

“A bear,” she said, pointing to her penciled answer for 1 Across.