Virginia keeps records of all bears caught in the state. The largest bear ever caught in the state was 728 pounds, standing at 7’2″. It was killed by Tyler Napier, who was hunting on his parent’s farm.
He said that he had seen the bear many times on the farm. However, he had never gotten close enough to take an ethical shot. He reported that he shot the bear five different times, and the bear still didn’t go down right away. Of course, at this point, he was nervous, as he was out of bullets.
The bear required five people and a tractor to get it out of the woods. Then, the man got it mounted and officially measured, which set the record in stone.
The state has a very health bear population. Bigger and bigger bears are being checked each year. The state reports that in the 1970s, only about 600 bears were checked in annually. However, it’s now up to nearly 3,000.
Virginia has a very healthy population of black bears.
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Therefore, this record may be beat sooner rather than later. However, it currently still stands. Several other large bears have been caught, as well, with at least one 600-pound bear being caught each year.
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