PA Hunters Killed Record Number Of Black Bears In 2019

PENNSYLVANIA - Hunters across the state killed 4,653 black bears in the fall, setting a new state record bear harvest.

That's substantially more bears than the 3,153 harvested in the previous year, but Pennsylvania Game Commission officials noted 2018 was the lowest bear harvest in the past 11 years. Pennsylvania’s previous top bear seasons occurred in 2011, when 4,350 bears were harvested, and in 2005, when 4,164 were taken.

Game Commission officials were pleased with the size of the harvest, as the statewide bear population is around 20,000.

Over the course of bear hunting’s three major season segments, hunters took 1,629 bears in the general season; 1,340 in the muzzleloader and specialfirearms seasons; 1,117 in extended firearms seasons and 561 in the bear archery season. The muzzleloader, extended and archery harvests also are new record harvests.

“To have three independent bear seasons with harvests in excess of 1,000 is surely historic,”commission biologist Mark Ternent noted. “But when a record 202,043 hunters buy
licenses and can participant in the opening days of four seasons that weren’t impacted by poor weather, there’s always a great chance for hunter success to increase.”

The largest bear taken during all 2019 seasons was an 813-pound male taken with a rifle on the opening day of the general season in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, by Victor M. Vassalluzzo, of Kintnersville.

The heaviest bear ever taken in Pennsylvania was an 875-pounder harvested in 2010 in Middle Smithfield Township, Pike County. Since 1992, seven black bears weighing at least 800 pounds have been lawfully harvested in Pennsylvania hunting seasons.

Lycoming County finished with 284 bears to take the top county bear harvest. It was followed by Clinton and Tioga counties, both with 267. Other top counties for bear harvests in 2019 were: Huntingdon, 180; Potter, 174; Luzerne, 163; Pike, 161; Bedford, 156; Centre, 146 and Warren, 146.

Here is the detailed breakdown of how many bears were killed in each county:

Northwest: 557 (517): Warren, 146 (72); Venango, 80 (96); Forest, 69 (70); Crawford, 65 (79); Jefferson, 65 (79); Clarion, 65 (52); Butler, 44 (26); Erie, 16 (29); Mercer, 7 (13); and Lawrence, 0 (1).

Southwest: 347 (261): Somerset, 124 (85); Fayette, 62 (58); Armstrong, 58 (33); Indiana, 42 (34); Cambria, 29 (21); Westmoreland, 29 (26); Allegheny, 2 (2); Greene, 1 (1); and Beaver, 0 (1).
Northcentral – 1,605 (989): Lycoming, 284 (159); Clinton, 267 (158); Tioga, 267 (166); Potter, 174 (109); Centre, 146 (87); McKean, 129 (67); Clearfield, 103 (87); Elk, 101 (54);Cameron, 80 (67); and Union, 54 (35).

Southcentral: 731 (474): Huntingdon, 180 (142); Bedford, 156 (80); Fulton, 80 (58); Perry, 68 (31); Mifflin, 54 (29); Franklin, 47 (26); Juniata, 42 (34); Blair, 40 (44); Cumberland, 27 (12); Snyder, 25 (7); Adams, 11 (7); and York, 1 (4).

Northeast: 1,228 (775): Luzerne, 163 (105); Pike, 161 (104); Wayne, 131 (70); Monroe, 130 (103); Bradford, 128 (96); Carbon, 88 (60); Sullivan, 87 (53); Susquehanna, 82 (46); Wyoming, 82 (40); Lackawanna, 79 (34); Columbia, 64 (38); Northumberland, 26 (24); and Montour, 7 (2).

Southeast: 185 (137): Schuylkill, 79 (50); Dauphin, 67 (48); Berks, 17 (8); Northampton, 16 (17); Lehigh, 4 (4); and Lebanon, 2 (10).