By Cory Boothe
Coryboothe@hotmail.com
Hunters harvested seven bear in Calhoun County in 2014. Three were taken with archery equipment. Four were taken in the December season. Neighboring Gilmer and Ritchie both had one bear taken, Wirt had two, Clay had 33 and Braxton had 40. Roane County did not have a bear taken.
Black bears are slowly making their way to Calhoun from the east. This is noticeable by the large harvests of Braxton and Clay. Bears are being seen with regularity. They are showing up on people's game cams and even in people's lawns.
Personally, I love that bears are roaming the hills of Calhoun County. The habitat is ideal. They do not pose a serious threat to people. Bears are very much like an overgrown raccoon.
The state animal is alive and well in West Virginia. Overall, the black bear kill was 2,385 bears. The leading counties were Webster(213), Randolph(211) and Pocahontas(201).
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