Bear harvest in area up from last year
Though the numbers of black bears harvested this season decreased statewide, preliminary numbers indicate that the bear harvest in the area was better than the previous year.
According to Wildlife Conservation Officer Andrew Harvey, the number of bears harvested in the area, particularly in game lands 51, is “up from last year.”
“I thought that was pretty good based on the weather we had for bear season this year,” Harvey said.
“The first day of rifle was rainy and windy, and it pushed a lot of hunters out of the woods late morning,” Harvey said, referring to the cold front that blew in on Nov. 19. “A few came back out in the afternoon, but that weather makes it tough for hunters to be successful.”
Harvey said bear hunters are typically most successful when they drive in large parties, walking through thick brush to coax a bear from its cover. Windy, rainy weather, however, puts a damper on those efforts, he said.
“There wasn’t as much pressure in the state forest areas in Donegal through the Seven Springs area,” Harvey asid.
According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, preliminary numbers indicate that 59 bears were taken in Fayette County, compared to the 56 harvested in 2015. Harvey said about 14 were taken in game land 51 in Dunbar Township.
Somerset and Westmoreland counties also saw an increase with 83 and 33 bears harvested respectively, compared to 2015 numbers of 64 and 23. No bears were harvested in Greene or Washington counties this year, officials said.
“I didn’t see as many killed as I’d have liked on Saturday. But Monday, once there was some snow on the ground, hunters were able to follow bear tracks,” Harvey added.
“Overall, I’m happy with it though,” he said.
According to the game commission, the preliminary 2016 statewide harvest was 2,579, which is a decrease of more than 1,000 from the previous year. Those numbers, however, don’t account for archery bear season and extended bear seasons, which will be released at a later date, officials said.
“We have such a healthy population of bears in Pennsylvania, even with our hunting seasons set up the way they are,” Harvey said. “The bear harvest isn’t detrimental to the black bear population, especially when the average litter size is about three cubs, where a lot of other state average only one cub.”
A number of trophy bears were taken statewide, though none were in the southwest region of the state.
The heaviest bear harvested this year was a male around 740 pounds, taken in Indiana County. The top ten heaviest bears taken this season all surpass the 600-pound mark, while Harvey said most bears harvested are between 100 and 200 pounds.
“We haven’t had a large one harvested in Fayette in a long time,” Harvey said. “However, there was one around 500 taken near Mount Davis in Somerset County during rifle season.”