Pennsylvania Game News - April 2015 - 44

(106); Fayette, 103 (67); Armstrong,
35 (43); Westmoreland, 29 (41); Indiana, 19 (49); Cambria, 15 (26); and
Allegheny, 2 (3).
Northcentral - 1,382: Lycoming,
286 (234); Tioga, 274 (286); Clinton,
179 (133); Potter 157 (196); Centre,
117 (96); McKean, 100 (108); Elk, 79
(103); Cameron, 76 (108); Clearfield,
72 (125); and Union, 42 (41).
Southcentral - 390: Huntingdon, 88
(67); Bedford, 70 (55); Perry, 55 (16);
Mifflin, 42 (31); Blair, 41 (29); Fulton,
28 (19); Juniata, 28 (28); Franklin, 19
(9); Snyder, 14 (18); Cumberland, 4
(1); and Adams, 1 (0).
Northeast - 794: Pike, 111 (150);
Bradford, 108 (96); Wayne, 87 (127);
Monroe, 79 (79); Sullivan, 76 (105);
Luzerne, 74 (98); Susquehanna, 74
(56); Wyoming, 55 (66); Lackawanna,
51 (48); Carbon, 47 (57); Columbia,
23 (24); Northumberland, 8 (14); and
Montour, 1 (0).
Southeast - 95: Schuylkill, 39 (35);
Dauphin, 35 (23); Northampton, 9
(18); Berks, 6 (4); Lehigh 4 (0); and
Lebanon, 2 (7).
Impressive as the 2014 bear harvest
might be, it's worth noting the potential
for an even bigger harvest.
A record number of hunters - 173,523
- bought Pennsylvania bear licenses in
2014. The previous record - 167,438 -
was set in 2013. It was also a bumper year
for acorn crops throughout much of the
state's core bear-hunting areas.
When little food is available, bears
tend to enter dens early. But in years when
food is abundant, they remain more active
during hunting seasons.

Yet, despite the favorable outlook,
weather during key days in the bear
hunting seasons impacted the harvest.
The archery season was much colder and
wetter than usual, which likely affected
hunter success. Still, 170 bears were taken
during the statewide archery season, but
the total was down slightly from 2013
when 197 were harvested.
The 2014 general season began on
a high note, with the opening day harvest up 21 percent compared to 2013.
And that increase came despite an ice
storm that affected hunters throughout
northcentral Pennsylvania during the
afternoon of the opening day.
The weather would continue to have
an impact on the general season, and the
Monday harvest was down 40 percent
compared to 2013.
Still, it's difficult to consider the seventh-largest harvest on record anything
but a success. And the prospects for the
trend to continue again next year already
are good, said Mark Ternent, the Game
Commission's bear biologist.
The statewide bear population has
remained stable over the past seven
years, with the population estimated most
recently at 18,100 bears, Ternent said.
Interest in bear-hunting has remained
high, as verified by license sales. And
the opportunities to hunt bears are as
plentiful as ever.
"It's always difficult to predict exactly
how good bear hunting will be in a given
year," Ternent said. "But there have been
several banner years in the past decade,
with nothing to indicate that fantastic
bear hunting won't continue in 2015
and beyond."

Pennsylvania Game Commission: Managing wild birds, wild mammals
and their habitats for current and future generations.
44

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Pennsylvania Game News - April 2015

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