Black Bear Population Makes Great Comeback In Virginia: Report

VIRGINIA — A Virginia wildlife official puts the current count of black bears in the state at between 18,000 and 20,000.

Over the past few decades, reforestation and state management have resulted in the black bear becoming more common in the state. Even in some Northern Virginia communities, black bear sightings in backyards have become more common.

An indicator of the number of bears in Virginia is how many hunters have killed during the permitted season, Sarah Vogelsong reported in an article for the Virginia Mercury this week.

According to numbers released by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources earlier this month, 3,464 black bears were killed by hunters in the 2020-21 season, the second-highest number of bear killings the state has on record, according to the Virginia Mercury report.

Black bears are Virginia’s largest land mammal, capable of living in the wild for 30 years or more and ranging from 175 to 400 pounds.

Before their numbers started to grow, the black bear population in Virginia had declined to about 1,000 by the middle of the 20th century. As Europeans moved to North America, their population fell as a result of overhunting, deforestation due to agriculture, iron smelting and railroads and a lack of food, Vogelsong wrote.

With their numbers increasing, black bears are now making their way into suburban areas in central and Northern Virginia. Residents are capturing video of black bears on their outdoor cameras. Residents in the Spotsylvania Courthouse area, for example, captured a medium-sized black bear on camera searching for food in their yard.

Black bears in Virginia feed mainly on berries and fruits, nuts, grasses and insects. Their diet is approximately 75 percent vegetarian. Only rarely do they kill for food and when they do their prey is most always a young, injured or defenseless animal. In the Spotsylvania Courthouse video, the residents estimated the bear's weight at about 125 pounds.

Vehicle collisions with black bears also are becoming more common with the increase in the bear population and suburban sprawl. Just over a year ago, a Virginia Department of Transportation crew found a dead bear on Interstate 66. The crew removed the bear from an eastbound lane near the Manassas rest stop.

Humans and black bears should be able to coexist, even as the bears move into suburban areas looking for food, according to experts.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has some advice should you come across a black bear:

• Stay calm. If you see a bear and it has not seen you, calmly leave the area. As you move away, make noise to let the bear discover your presence.
• Stop. Back away slowly while facing the bear.
• Give the bear plenty of room to escape. Bears rarely attack people unless they feel cornered or provoked.
• Do not run or make any sudden movements. Running could prompt the bear to give chase, and you cannot outrun a bear. If on a trail, step off the trail and slowly leave the area.
• If a bear is in your yard and it approaches you, make yourself look big and make loud noises. Remain at a safe distance and throw rocks to make the bear feel unwelcome.
• If a bear is in your house, prop open all doors to the outside and get out of the way of the exit. Never close a bear into a room. Make noises and yell at bear to leave the house. Don't approach the bear but make sure it knows it is violating your territory.
• If you surprise a bear, speak softly. This may reassure the bear that you mean it no harm.
• Fight back. If a black bear attacks you, fight back. Black bears have been driven away when people have fought back with rocks, sticks, binoculars and even their bare hands.