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Change in hunting seasons contributes to reduced number of bears killed in Pennsylvania

Brian Whipkey, Pennsylvania Outdoors Columnist
·4 min read

Hunters in Pennsylvania killed 2,920 bears during the fall hunting seasons, 250 fewer than last year’s total of 3,170 bears.

“So I think this decrease in the overall harvest is mostly explained by the removal of the extended season in those five WMUs,” Emily Carrollo, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Black Bear Program Specialist, said in a news release. “Obviously, there are many other things that affect a harvest season for any wildlife species. But most of it can be explained by the removal of those five WMUs.”

The Game Commission eliminated the extended bear season that overlaps with part of the rifle deer season in Wildlife Management Units 1B, 2C, 4A, 4B and 4D for the 2023 season.

Early look: Pennsylvania hunters shot fewer black bears in 2023 than any year since 2007

On average, from 2019 to 2022, the agency reports those units produced a harvest of 375 bears during the extended season.

In 2023, the state had 206,124 bear hunters. That total — the fourth-highest ever — marked the fifth year in a row that bear license sales topped 200,000. Last year, there were 213,638 bear hunters

Bears are found throughout the state and 57 of the 68 counties reported having at least one bear shot by a hunter. The agency estimates Pennsylvania has about 18,000 bears living in the wild.

Game Commission staff members, Mollie Byrne, southwest region wildlife disease technician, left, and Mary Jo Casalena, wild turkey biologist, examine a black bear Nov. 18 at their check station in New Centerville.
Game Commission staff members, Mollie Byrne, southwest region wildlife disease technician, left, and Mary Jo Casalena, wild turkey biologist, examine a black bear Nov. 18 at their check station in New Centerville.

The traditional statewide firearms bear season contributed the most to the harvest, 1,086. The archery season added 695, the extended season 591, the muzzleloader season 424, the special firearms season 117 and the early archery season 7.

The Game Commission reports the largest bear killed was a 691-pounder taken in the extended rifle season in Porter Township, Pike County, by Mitchell Jonathan, of Quakertown. But five other hunters got bears exceeding 600 pounds, and all of the top 10 heaviest bears weighed at least 576 pounds.

Those bears are the 645-pounder taken in the archery season in Foster Township, Schuylkill County, by Joseph Brennan, of Pottsville; a 636-pounder killed in the firearms season in Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, by James Lucke, of Hamlin; a 630-pounder hunted in the firearms season in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, by Wesley Leibig, of Saylorsburg; a 616-pounder harvested in archery season in Nesquehoning Borough, Carbon County, by Brad Matalavage, of Nesquehoning; a 605-pounder taken in the firearms season in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, by Kyle Heselpoth, of Port Treverton; a 589-pounder killed in the firearms season in Washington Township, Jefferson County, by Benjamin Freemer, of Brockway; a 581-pounder hunted in the firearms season in Watson Township, Lycoming County, by Derek Fleegle, of Jersey Shore; a 581-pounder harvested in the firearms season in Cherry Township, Sullivan County, by Samuel Fisher of Montgomery; and a 576-pounder taken in the firearms season in Cherry Township, Sullivan County, by Ryan Gehman, of Denver.

Among counties, Tioga produced the most, where 176 bears were hunted last season. It was followed in the top 10 by Lycoming (170), Potter (155), Pike (142), Bradford (138), Luzerne (135), Monroe (127), Wayne (124), Clinton (108) and Carbon (101).

The Pennsylvania Game Commission's black bear research efforts are underway in the commonwealth. From left, Justin Duncan, wildlife biologist, Emily Carrollo, black bear program manager, and Brian Witherite, state game warden, check on a mother bear March 3, 2022, in Somerset County. The team uses tranquilizer darts on the bears to check on their overall health.

Final county harvests by region (with 2022 figures in parentheses) are:

  • Northwest – 357 (502): Forest, 68 (51); Warren, 65 (88); Venango, 64 (79); Jefferson, 50 (81); Clarion, 44 (80); Butler, 29 (40); Crawford, 24 (52); Erie, 8 (20); and Mercer, 5 (11).

  • Southwest –141 (253): Armstrong, 41 (50); Somerset, 32 (64); Indiana, 24 (31); Fayette, 23 (34); Westmoreland, 13 (25); Cambria, 5 (44); Greene, 1 (3); Beaver, 1 (0); and Allegheny, 1 (2).

  • Northcentral – 1,034 (1,028): Tioga, 176 (187); Lycoming, 170 (152); Potter, 155 (119); Clinton, 108 (113); Elk, 90 (85); McKean, 90 (52); Cameron, 85 (52); Clearfield, 72 (114); Centre, 71 (122); and Union, 17 (32).

  • Southcentral – 162 (355): Bedford, 34 (71); Mifflin, 28 (34); Huntingdon, 25 (81); Juniata, 19 (26); Perry, 14 (29); Blair, 11 (33); Adams, 10 (7); Franklin, 9 (18); Cumberland 6 (8); Fulton, 4 (9); and Snyder, 2 (15).

  • Northeast – 1,067 (901): Pike, 142 (84); Bradford, 138 (126); Luzerne, 135 (126); Monroe, 127 (114); Wayne, 124 (81); Carbon, 101 (78); Sullivan, 75 (84); Susquehanna, 67 (47); Wyoming, 62 (50); Lackawanna, 57 (51); Columbia, 27 (46); Northumberland, 10 (10); and Montour, 2 (4).

  • Southeast – 159 (131): Schuylkill, 65 (65); Dauphin, 42 (27); Northampton, 21 (12); Berks, 16 (11); Lebanon, 10 (14); and Lehigh, 5 (2).

Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him with questions about the outdoors or story ideas at bwhipkey@gannett.com or 814-444-5928. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: How many bears are hunted in Pennsylvania each year?