The Largest Black Bear Ever Caught in Maryland

The black bear, otherwise known as the American black bear, is a medium-sized bear that lives throughout forested areas of North America. It is the most widespread bear species on the continent and the most numerous globally. In Maryland, black bears inhabit primarily four counties: Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Fredrick. Their numbers are highest in Garrett and Allegany counties. The American black bear is the only wild bear in Maryland.

Although larger than other bears worldwide, the black bear is the smallest of the North American bears at about 5-6 feet long, weighing 110 to 450 pounds. So, what was the largest black bear ever caught in Maryland?

The Largest Black Bear Ever Caught in Maryland

Game records for Maryland are listed in the record books of the Boone and Crockett Club, but the records are limited to trophy size. The records kept by the club only relate to the dimensions of the bear’s skull. The weight and length of the bear do not count. Also, skulls that are found count the same as skulls that are taken in a hunt.

The Boone and Crockett record for Maryland belongs to Lacie Ashby. While walking her dog, she came across a black bear skull totaling 22 and 8/16 inches—without its front teeth! The second-place skull on the list was also a find, measuring 22 and 2/16 inches.

The largest skull on the list, belonging to a black bear caught and killed by a hunter, measured 22 and 1/16 inches. However, this bear weighed only 374 pounds. The trophy below it measured 21 and 10/16 inches. This bear weighed an incredible 615 pounds and stood almost 7 feet tall. This demonstrates that the size of the skull doesn’t necessarily correlate with the size of the bear.

However, the largest black bear ever caught in Maryland weighed 643 pounds. A hunter known only as Melissa shot the bear in Garrett County on the first day of 2023’s hunting season. According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, it is the official record holder for the state of Maryland. Whether the hunter will enter it into the Boone and Crockett Club records is unknown.

The Largest Black Bear Ever Caught in the United States

The largest black bear caught in the United States was a 900-pound cattle killer. It was shot in December of 1921 on the Moqui Reservation in Arizona by M.E. Musgrave, a hunter for the U.S. Biological Survey. The largest black bear skull taken from a hunted bear was reported by Robert J. Shuttleworth, who harvested a bear with a skull measuring 23-3/16 inches. The largest black bear skull in the U.S. was discovered in Sanpete, Utah. It measured a total of 23 and 10/16 inches. The weights of these last two are unknown.

Bear Hunting in Maryland

Due to overhunting, Maryland banned black bear hunting in 1953. After the bear population reached sustainable levels again, the state reopened bear hunting in 2004. The state has one hunting season per year, typically in late October. Hunters apply for a permit through a lottery system. Hunters have harvested an average of 83 bears per year between 2004 and 2021.

Maryland does not permit hunters to hunt bears with dogs, though hunters can use dogs to locate a dead or wounded bear. Biting or attracting bears using bait, scents, or calls is not legal. Additionally, hunters may not kill bears in their dens or hunt from motorized vehicles. During hunting season, hunters may hunt bears from the half hour preceding sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Frank Fichtmüller/iStock via Getty Images