Pennsylvania Game News - November 2015 - 13

B

EAR HUNTING probably never has
been better in Pennsylvania.
Seven of Pennsylvania's largest black
bear harvests have occurred in the past
10 years. In fact, since 2005, more than
34,000 black bears have been taken by
hunters here.
Just as amazing is that bears were taken
in 56 of the state's 67 counties in the 2014
season, in a harvest - 3,366 bears - that
ranked seventh all time.
For perspective, consider this: In 1954,
the total bear harvest was 403 in 28 counties; in 1974, the total bear kill was 223
in 27 counties; in 1994, the bear harvest
was 1,365 in 42 counties. Interestingly,
in 1994, the bear harvest in two counties
- Lycoming and Clearfield - topped the
statewide bear harvest in 1974.
Pennsylvania's black bear population
upsurge was germinated by careful and
conservative management of what was
a fragile resource in the 1970s. Today, it
must be held in check or the repercussions
likely would exceed what Pennsylvanians
consider tolerable, both in "bear country"
and in the peripheral areas bears keep
trying to occupy, particularly south of the
Blue Mountain.

Season Snapshot
Game Commission bear biologist
Mark Ternent described the 2014 bear
harvest as fairly typical compared to
recent years.
There were 41 black bears that weighed
500 pounds or more in the 2014 harvest.
Three reached more than 600 pounds.
The largest, a 677-pounder, was taken
by James M. Hultberg, of Pittsfield,
in Lycoming County's Pine Township
during the bear archery season. The bear is
not listed yet in Pennsylvania's Big Game
Records book.
Bob D'Angelo, who coordinates the
NOVEMBER 2015	

state's Big Game Records program, said
22 bears - two of them taken with archery
equipment - were added to the state
records book in 2015. Sixteen of those
animals also qualified for the Boone &
Crockett Club record book, he said.
The largest, taken in Potter County in
2013, ties for 28th place all-time in the
firearms category, with a skull measurement of 22 3/16 inches.

Bears & Bear Hunters
Although expanded hunting seasons
have cranked up pressure on bears in
recent years, they haven't led to a reduction in the statewide population. Bear
population estimates have hovered around
18,000 bears statewide over the past
seven years, Ternent said. Things such as
extended seasons, an archery bear season,
and four days of statewide bear season
with a Saturday opener all were geared
toward stabilizing or reducing bear populations in specific Wildlife Management
Units or urban and suburban areas, and to
keep nuisance problems in check, he said.
"Our bear population steadily increased
from the early '80s until about 2000,"
Ternent said. "Between 2000 and 2007,
the population began to stabilize at around
15,000 bears, as new hunting opportunities were introduced. Then an unusually
low harvest in 2007 caused a bump in the
population to around 18,000 bears."
Since that harvest low of 2,362 in
2007 - the lowest since 1999 - the bear
population has leveled off, despite a growing number of bear hunters and continued
expansion of hunting opportunities.
"With a record 173,523 licensed bear
hunters last year, it would appear most
areas in the state inhabited by bears are
drawing some level of hunting pressure,"
Ternent said. "Yet, the statewide bear
population remains stable."
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - November 2015
