The State Game Commission has released the final tally of bears taken in the 2021 seasons, and hunters were quite successful statewide, if not in Indiana County.
State bear hunters took 3,659 bears, the fifth largest harvest ever. It was 38 bears more than in 2020. The extended bear season contributed, with an additional 1,128 bears taken.
Indiana County’s bear hunters took only 12 bears, down from 30 the year before. Among our neighbors, two counties had slightly more than in 2020. Armstrong was up two, to 58, and Westmoreland County hunters took 42 bears, nine more than in 2020. Cambria County was off five, to 19. Jefferson County’s harvest fell by four, to 72. And Clearfield County’s total harvest was down 64 to 94.
The largest bear taken in Pennsylvania was a 722-pound male taken with a shotgun in the extended season, on December 4th in Franklin County. The heaviest bear ever taken in Pennsylvania was an 875-pounder in 2010 in Pike County.
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