Pennsylvania is in the midst of its four-day bear season, and the state Game Commission yesterday released the harvest numbers for Saturday’s first day.
The stormy weather took a toll…only 659 bears were taken across the Commonwealth in 49 counties. That’s a dramatic decrease from recent years. Last year’s first-day harvest was 1,297. In 2015, it was 1,508. In fact, there have been more than a thousand bears taken on the first day every year since 2006, including a high of 1,897 in 2009. The statistics do not include the archery and early bear season harvest.
The largest bear taken on Saturday was in Venango County. It was a male weighing an estimated 700 pounds. None of the ten largest bears were shot in Indiana County.
In Indiana County, only one bear was taken on Saturday, compared to ten last year. The numbers were down in all of our neighboring counties as well. Jefferson County led the way with 15, but hunters there had 29 last year. Clearfield County hunters killed 12 bears, compared to 46 last year. Armstrong and Cambria each had four bear kills. Westmoreland County had none.
Bear season ends tomorrow.
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