The State Game Commission last week released the final tally on the 2017 bear season, and the harvest in Indiana County was way down, falling from 35 bears the year before to just 11.
Bear season was hampered by terrible weather, especially on opening day, which is typically the day when the most bears are taken.
Except for Armstrong County, the bear harvest was down from 2016, but all of them had much higher totals than Indiana County. Armstrong’s total rose from 24 to 36 bears taken. Jefferson County hunters took 55 bears, down from 68 the year before. Cambria was off by two, with 21 bears harvested. Westmoreland County hunters got 26, down from 36. And Clearfield County bear hunters, who typically top the annual regional bear harvest, did it again this, but their total of 66 bears was down from 99 in 2016.
The Game Commission says hunters took 3,438 bears out of Pennsylvania’s woods this year, with record numbers of 493 killed by archers and 1,083 for the extended season. 2017’s harvest was the ninth-highest in state history. Lycoming County led the way with 252 bears taken, and Tioga County also topped the 200 mark, with 214. The largest bear taken was a 707-pounder in Monroe County.
