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A 700-pound bear shot in New Jersey last year has set a new world record as the largest black bear ever killed with a bow and arrow in North America.
Last week, the Pope and Young Club, a national bowhunting organization, announced that there was a new world record for the largest bow-harvested black bear on the continent. The bear was shot by outdoorsman Jeff Melillo on Oct. 14, in Morris County.
A 700-pound bear shot in New Jersey, pictured, has set a new world record as the largest black bear ever killed with a bow and arrow in North America. (Pope and Young Club)
On Feb. 8, the bowhunting and conservation group Pope and Young Club assembled a special panel of judges during the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Penn. to verify the record, the club said in a news release.
Melillo’s bear scored 23 5/16, toppling a record set in 1993 by a hunter in Mendocino County, Calif.
"It has been an inspiring journey, to say the least,” Melillo, a native of New Jersey, said in a statement. “Many years ago, I read an article in Outdoor Life magazine stating that the new world record black bear will most likely come from New Jersey. They were spot on, and I never doubted it for one second.”
“I'm very grateful that I get to be a part of all this. Pursuing bears with bow and arrow is a passion of mine,” the bowhunter continued, thanking the state Division of Fish and Wildlife and United Bow Hunters of New Jersey.
The bear, pictured, was shot on Oct. 14 in Morris County. (Pope and Young Club)
Eli Randall, records director for the Pope and Young Club, admitted he was “not prepared” for how large the black bear truly was.
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"I knew I was going to be looking at an impressive black bear skull, as it was officially measured at over 23 inches and weighed in at 700 pounds,” Randall said. “I was not prepared for the amount of mass the skull possessed, not only was the skull huge, but the bone structure was the heaviest I had ever seen.”
Rick Mowery, communications and marketing manager for the Pope and Young Club, told Fox News that the size of the bear was a testament to good wildlife management by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
“However, species should be managed by sound, scientific practices, not emotions. Recent hunting bans are unhealthy for residents, bear populations, and are counter to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation,” Mowery said.
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Preserved through taxidermy, the 700-pound bear will be displayed at the Pope and Young Annual Convention in Chantily, Va. in March.
Pictured left to right are Dan Lynch, Eli Randall, Terry Mollett and Timothy Walsh, all measurers present at the special Great American Outdoors Show panel. (Pope and Young Club)
New Jersey’s black bear hunt has caused controversy in recent years, as Gov. Phil Murphy vowed to end the practice during his campaign and in 2018 instituted a ban on hunting bears on state lands. At present, the New Jersey Sierra Club continues to seek a complete ban.
After a nearly 30-year hiatus, the hunt was reintroduced in the Garden State in 2003 to control a growing bear population.
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A total of 315 bears were killed during last year’s hunting periods.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.