Really big black bear from eastern North Carolina. 780 lbs worth.

[philos]

They grow 'em big in that part of the world. Field & Stream article link below.

North Carolina Man Arrows Massive 780-Pound Black Bear

On a recent hunt, Brad Jones arrowed a 780-pound bear. It’s one of the biggest bruins ever killed in North Carolina.

www.fieldandstream.com

 

[black dawg]

big bear. It would be nice to see a picture of it with the guy next to it to get a more realistic veiw of its size.

 

[Billy Goat]

I saw one getting weighed in that realm. It was on the back of a pickup on truck scales. Looked like a round bale.



Turns out 2 buddies were in a competition of who could shoot a bigger bear and at least one was going around getting day old Krispy Kreme and putting them out. Not to mention all the dead poultry it was eating from compost piles in that area.

They both ended up in some trouble I believe.

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

big bear. It would be nice to see a picture of it with the guy next to it to get a more realistic veiw of its size.

Here is a 575 ish lb bear (live weight) next to an 250 lb 5’-8” man. I can’t imagine this bear having another 200 lbs

 

[bushbound]

This PA bear was 638lbs. The bear in OPs article was 140+lbs bigger. Thats insane.

 

[Yoder]

In 2003 I saw a black bear a guy killed that weighed 864lbs. He had it hanging at his cabin in Pike county PA. A doe was hanging next to it that could have fit into it's chest cavity. It looked like a black grizzly bear. It turned out he shot it then bought a bear tag later. I wish I could find the pictures.

 

[7mm-08]

Giant bear! I'd love to see that thing on the ground in person, but not if I had to skin, quarter or have anything else to do with moving a bear that weighed that much.

 

[Swamp Fox]

He didn't get that big eating berries.


The record is 880# ... also NC ...


Hurricanes, dead hogs, and eatin' goober peas...

I'm off to write a song....

 

[BLJ]

Do they keep separate records for different parts of NC? The article seems to distinguish between western bears and eastern bears.

 

[timekiller13]

Do they keep separate records for different parts of NC? The article seems to distinguish between western bears and eastern bears.

Generally, in NC we do make a distinction between eastern bears and western bears due to the immense difference in size. Since there is way more agriculture down east the bears get much larger. A 500lb bear down east is not uncommon. A 500lb mountain bear is pretty rare.

That bear is a giant. I would love to have seen it in person. I saw one that weighed 704lbs it filled up the entire bed of an 8ft super duty truck.

 

[Wrench]

What are these bears eating? A 400# bear out west is a big bear. Our bears tend to be more muscular and less round. Ours do hibernate as well.

 

[EdP]

I saw an article a few years ago about some of the eastern NC bears that spend most of their time in the coastal swamp and come out at night to feast in the corn fields. Supposedly the largest black bears in North America.

 

[BLJ]

What are these bears eating? A 400# bear out west is a big bear. Our bears tend to be more muscular and less round. Ours do hibernate as well.

From what I’ve read it has a lot to do with a more constant food source and not hibernating.

Open for more knowledge/corrections on that.

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

The big bears in Wisconsin that are 500+ typically are eating corn and bear bait. I’m sure if there’s a chicken farm or pig farm with a dead pile they are hitting that as well. Our bears hibernate as well up here.

 

[Wellsdw]

Corn, soy beans, hog farm trash, probably some poultry farms too. Compound that with lots of swamps and pocoasin forest with mild winters, they live pretty good. They don’t have to travel very far either to the dinner table.

 

[Wrench]

The only confirmed 600# bear I know of around here was living in dumpsters.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I'm guessing he was a regular in the peanut fields.

 

[mi650]

Dayum!! And I thought these were big! (Well, they are for this area)

 

[Swamp Fox]

Other coastal bears from Virginia on down to Florida (the span of my experience) don't get that big, and so I put these monsters down to the four P's mixed together, which is very localized: peanuts, pigs, poultry, and protection.

 

[Swamp Fox]

That said, there was a near-700-pounder killed in WNC this year ....(western NC) ...