OUTDOORS Local bear harvest numbers down significantly
Feb. 19—The PA.Game Commission has released harvest figures for last autumn's black bear season, showing that hunters took a total of 2,920 bruins statewide. Although that number is down just 250 from last season, the number of bears taken locally were down significantly.
The southwest region produced about half as many bears as it did in 2022, with Somerset Co. leading local harvests at just 32— exactly half as many as in 2022. Hunters in Indiana Co. took 24 bears (down from 31 in 2022).
Only five bears were taken in Cambria Co., a far cry from 2022's total of 44. Westmoreland Co. recorded half as many bears as it did the previous season with just 13, and Fayette Co. turned in 23 (down from 34 in 2022).
The lower numbers are being attributed to the elimination of the extended bear season last fall in Wildlife Management Units 1B, 2C, 4A, 4B and 4D. "So I think this decrease in the overall harvest is mostly explained by the removal of the extended season in those five WMUs," said Emily Carrollo, the Game Commission's Black Bear Program Specialist. "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 addition of bear archery, muzzleloader, and special firearms seasons has significantly increased the amount of bear hunters since 2003, when less than 130,000 licenses were sold. According to the PGC, last fall over 206,124 bear hunters took to the woods—the fourth-highest ever, marking the fifth year in a row that license sales topped 200,000.
The north-central counties of Tioga, Lycoming, and Potter, led the state's harvest totals with 176, 170, and 155 bears respectively. Neighboring Bradford and Clinton counties added another 246 bruins to that region's total. The northeastern counties of Pike, Luzerne, Monroe, Wayne and Carbon all fell into the state's top ten with a combined total harvest of 629 bears.
The largest bear harvested in the state, taken with a firearm in Pike Co., weighed 691 pounds. Five others weighed in above 600 pounds. Two behemoths were taken with a bow— a 645 lb. specimen in Schuylkill Co., and a 616 lb. bruin in Carbon Co.
Lackawanna Co. produced a 636 lb. bear; Monroe Co., a 630-pounder, and Northampton Co., a 605 lb. bear.
According to Outdoors International, Pennsylvania has produced 29 of the 100 largest black bears of all time; 22 of the top 100 in the last ten years.
