Hunters are finding large bears across Pennsylvania - GoErie.com

Brian Whipkey  |  Pennsylvania Outdoor Columnist

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Black bear season is underway across Pennsylvania, and some large bruins have been harvested.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported Monday morning that 2,242 bears have been taken. This includes the 1,044 taken in the firearms season that started Saturday and runs through Tuesday.

The agency said 1,198 bear tags were filled earlier during the archery, muzzleloader, special firearms and special regulation archery seasons.

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As of Monday morning, the largest bear was a 681-pounder taken in Luzerne County, followed by a 676-pound animal from Armstrong County.

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Hunters found the most success in Lycoming County with 135 bears being removed from the population.

In Somerset County, a 502-pound bear was shot Saturday in Lower Turkeyfoot Township by Jan Lach, 61, of Imperial, Allegheny County.

"It was a surprise," Lach said Monday morning about the encounter about 40 to 50 yards from him. He added that other hunters were walking through the area where he was watching and that the bear appeared after they left. "It was just amazing to see a bear. I didn't realize how big it was until it was on the ground."

Fortunately he had eight people to help him take it out of the woods and put it into the truck. 

"I really appreciated the help," Lach said.

One of them had a small yellow sled that they used along with some sticks and poles to bring the bear about a half mile out of the woods to the roadway.

"It was definitely a drag," Lach said. "We were all pretty tired until we got to the truck."

Even though Lach has hunted bear off and on for 25 years, he said this is the first one he's been able to shoot.

P.J. Ostrosky of Mount Pleasant shot his first-ever bear Sunday in the Connellsville area.

"We were putting on a drive," he said, noting that the bear first appeared about 70 yards away. "I like it a lot better now that I killed one." 

Ostrosky said he's planning to get a full-body mount of the bear that weighed 124 pounds field dressed and has estimated live weight of 148.

Travis Anderson, land management officer for the commission, was one of the staff members working at the New Centerville and Rural Volunteer Fire Co. check station in Somerset County on Sunday. He said that the harvest of about two dozen bear to that point was lower than expected. He added that the weather for Monday and Tuesday was expected to be better, as it's to be cooler for the hunters walking through the woods.

This year's mast crops have been plentiful, meaning that bears have had to travel less than other years to find food.

"The numbers we have in the check station are consistent with what we expected," Anderson said.

For those still looking for a bear, he added: "Hunters are going to have to go out find the animals instead of finding the food and waiting for the animals to come."

The season is open to all sizes of black bear.

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"It doesn't really matter on the size of the bear," Anderson said, "The important thing is hunters are out there harvesting the bears."

According to Anderson, it can be a challenge when a hunter sees a bear by itself to determine its size. Many years ago there was a regulation to protect smaller bears, but that led to a situation where hunters mistakenly killed a small bear and that animal was left in the woods instead of being part of the research done through the check stations.

For those who are concerned about yearlings when the mothers are harvested, he said that the young bears are mature enough to survive.

"If a bear made it this long in the wild even with its mom, it can definitely make it through winter without its mom. Its mom has taught it everything it needs to survive on its own," Anderson said.

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While bear season ends Tuesday, the season picks up again Saturday for hunters in certain other Wildlife Management Units as part of an extended season during rifle deer.

Extended bear hunting is allowed in WMUs 1B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 5A from Nov. 27 through Dec. 4, including Sunday, Nov. 28. Bear season in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D is scheduled for Nov. 27 through Dec. 11, including Sunday, Nov. 28.

Only one bear may be taken by a hunter during the license year.

Brian Whipkey is the outdoor columnist for USA Today Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Outdoors Newsletter email on your website's homepage under your login name.