Tooth extraction gives biologists crucial information about West Virginia’s black bear population. Hunters, be aware if you plan to bag a bear—one regulation has more teeth than it used to. State bear hunting regulations require hunters to extract and submit a black bear’s first premolar tooth. Hunters have until January
A Necessary Nuisance
Learning to live with the state’s official animal. Our state animal is a lot like us: persevering, highly adaptable, and occasionally misunderstood, with a habit of packing on extra pounds inthe winter. “The black bear is a really good symbol for West Virginians,”says Colin Carpenter, black bear project leader for