2005 Georgia Bear Harvest Sets Record

North Georgia bear hunters this year set a new record for total numbers of bears harvested, taking 259 bears.

The number eclipses the previous record of 256 set in 2003 and follows a slow hunting season during the 2004 season.

The rebound year was not unexpected.

Group effort takes bear: (Left to right) Alex Graham of Mt. Airy, Jody Payne of Lula, Shane Graham of Mt. Airy and Jason Payne of Lula with a 258-lb. Chattahoochee WMA bear. Jason shot the bear, and the rest of the crew helped track and drag.

“We figured that this would be a bounce-back year after last season when only 160 bears were taken,” said WRD bear biologist Scott Frazier. The drop in bear harvest in 2004 was attributed to the same factors that apparently lowered deer harvest — a great acorn crop and a lot of rain during deer season, he said.

This past season, Gilmer County led the way in county harvest with 25 bears killed. Union and White counties tied for second, each recording 20 bears killed.

On WMAs, perennial producer Cohutta WMA once again was the top of the list of WMAs with 32 bears checked out.

Chattahoochee WMA saw 18 bears checked out and ranked second for total harvest. While total numberw were higher at Cohutta, the harvest on a per-square-mile basis, however, was much higher at Chattahoochee WMA.

At the 39-square mile Chatta-hoochee WMA the bear harvest works out to one bear per 2.2 per square miles,  compared to one bear per 4.7 square miles at the 150-square-mile Cohutta.

The top-end heavyweight bears were missing this year, with no bears tipping the scales past the 500-lb. mark. There were, however, six bears with weights in the 400- to 500-lb. range. Two of the heaviest bears were taken in White County, one each in Lumpkin, Pickens, and Habersham, and one was killed at Rich Mountain WMA.

There were 163 bears, or 63 percent of the total harvest that fell into the 100- to 199-lb. range.

Bowhunters killed 58 bears, or 22 percent of the harvest during the 2005 season.

Muzzleloader hunters killed 12 bears, or 5 percent of the total.

Modern firearms hunters killed 189 bears, or 73 percent of the season harvest.

During the 2003 season, archers killed 27 percent of the bears; muzzleloaders accounted for 12 percent, and modern firearms hunters killed 62 percent of the bears.

The shift toward modern firearms hunters likely represents an emphasis by WRD to increase hunting opportunity in north Georgia to keep the bear population in check against a rapidly growing human population.

According to Scott, the north Georgia bear population is estimated at between 1,200 and 1,500 bears.

WRD also reported 13 illegal bear kills during 2005, and 14 road-killed bears.

Ross Evans of Bethlehem shot this 178-lb. male black bear with his .50-cal. muzzleloader at Dukes Creek WMA.