Hunters killed 107 bears in Game Zone 1
South Carolina’s 2019 Upstate Bear Hunt was a good year according to the SCDNR. Hunters killed a total of 112 bruins in Game Zones 1 and 2.
In Game Zone 1 (Mountain Unit Hunt) hunters killed a total of 107 bears. Of those, 46 were taken during the still hunt. Hunters killed sixty-one during the dog party hunt. The Mountain Hunt included taking 44 males and 63 females.
Pickens County harvested the most bears with 52. This included 24 during the the still hunt (11 males and 13 females). The dog party hunt accounted for 28 (8 males and 20 females).
Oconee County came in second with 30 bears. This included six bears during the still hunt (six males and no females) and 24 bears (nine males and 15 females) during the dog party hunt.
Greenville County had a total of 25 bears. This included 16 bears (seven males and nine females) during the still hunt and nine bears (three males and six females) during the dog party hunt.
Game Zone 2 gave up five bears during inaugural year
New this year was Game Zone 2 (Piedmont Hunt Unit). Zone 2 included private land only in Spartanburg and portions of Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens counties south of Game Zone 1. Hunters killed five bears, which included four males and one female. The inaugural year for Game Zone 2 allowed still hunting only (no dogs) and had a 20 bear quota on all counties combined.
According to Tammy Wactor, a biologist with SCDNR, an abundance of acorns and natural foods for the bears made for a good year.
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