Reid is currently contributing to StateImpact Pennsylvania, a collaboration among The Allegheny Front, WESA, WITF and WHYY covering the Commonwealth's energy economy. HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania bear hunters had quite the year in 2021. This category cant be compared prior to 2000. Longbow hunter describes his encounter with massive black bear in Bedford County, Hunters find three bears weighing more than 700 pounds as rifle seasons soon get underway, Here's your complete guide to the 2022 PA deer hunting season, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. They can feed for up to 20 hours a day during this period, consuming up to 20,000 calories. The bear is one of 700 the game commission is trapping this year as part of its annual tagging program. Keep a safe distance and call your local game warden. When I'm not working, I enjoy playing video games with friends. Population Growth of Black Bears Black Bear numbers have increased substantially in Pennsylvania, from around 4,000 in the 1970s to around 18,000 today. It weighed 875 pounds. The next numbers will be hypotheticals. That changed after the state placed limits on bear hunting. For some residents in Pennsylvania, black bears have become a familiar sight. Season recap:Bear harvest exceeds 3,600 in PA; here's a list of the top 10, including a 700 . See, The average size of home ranges for adult male bears in Pennsylvania is 20 square miles, while the average size for females is 6 to 8 square miles See. If a bear gets used to eating human food, it can become a nuisance. The good news is that, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, there were no fatal attacks in the state in the last century. They are omnivores, and in some cases, 96% of their diet is plant material. Great weather on peak hunting days also helped. "Because bear populations have the potential to further increase, which can result in more frequent human-bear conflicts, their numbers are managed using regulated hunting. In 2021 a central Pennsylvania hunter killed a 722-pound bear in Franklin County. Tioga County had the most bears at 153, and Lycoming County hunters found 124 bears. A great deal of the state's population is in Philadelphia and its surrounding areas, as the city has a population of 1.56 million. It was followed by Tioga County with 113 bears. Don't invest in fancy cable and pulley arrangements. Seven bears from Potter, Bedford, Clearfield, Clinton, Luzerne, Centre and Monroe counties were heavier than 600 pounds. A white blaze or V can be seen on the chests of many bears. They could be cinnamon or even blond. As of 2018, both of these counties have grown their populations since the last census, with Philadelphia County increasing by 3.04% and Allegheny County by a more modest 0.30%. Tom Keller, the game commissions game animal section supervisor (and Carrollos boss). Their average height is around 30 inches at the shoulder. The black bear's scientific name is Ursus americanus, which means "American bear." And although there are three species of bears in North America, many wonder if there are bears in Pennsylvania.In 2015, the population of bears in the state was around 20,000. Any comparison with the 1990 census to newer data will include the white, Black, and two categories added that year: American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian or Pacific Islander.. Inside, the light makes visible the head of a large black bear long brown snout, round teddy-bear ears, dark eyes. And remember that penn's woods is the black bear's woods too. In WMUs, 1B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A,4B,4C,4D,4E and 5A, bear season runs Nov. 26-Dec. 3. And the statewide bear population at the start of the bear-hunting seasons was about 20,000 bears. The following is a list of the 67 counties of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Two counties in the state of Pennsylvania have populations of more than one million. Heres a look at the rambling bears of Pennsylvania: http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2017/06/bears_on_move_across_pennsylva.html, If you do run into a bear, here's how to survive. If estimates featuring other demographic or geographic detail are needed and not yet available from . Human population at last census: 1,223,348. Visit a Pennsylvania bear check station:http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/11/black_bear_pennsylvania_huntin.html. This diet also includes beetles, ants, and bees. You might get bears that get fed a few times from people at a campground and then all of a sudden that bear is approaching every other person that visits that campground, Carrollo said. Although harvest has greatly increased, it has remained within acceptable limits. In 2004, hunters took 2,972 bears from 53 counties. So she has learned to deal with it. Just six years later, Pennsylvania. Bears were taken in 58 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. Adult black bears are anywhere from 50 to 85 incheslong from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. Black bears have become more prevalent in recent years in neighborhoods and backyards around the state. Carrollo says hes one of the biggest shes ever tagged well over 300 pounds. In 2020, the official bear count estimate was 20,000. It was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer. Since 1992, seven black bears weighing at least 800 pounds have been lawfully harvested in Pennsylvania hunting seasons. Each side has two molars on top and three on the bottom. How many of them are out there? In recent years the Pennsylvania Game Commission has estimated the statewide bruin population at about 20,000 animals, and this year the agency is predicting another solid season for hunters. Bear numbers in the state are down a bit in recent years, but there are still plenty of them. Final bear harvest numbers will be provided in early 2020 after biologists confirm and crosscheck harvest records. The quick answer is yes, but only black bears are present in the state. The preliminary statewide season bear harvest by Wildlife Management Unit was as follows: WMU 1A, 11 (19 in 2018); WMU 1B, 49 (120); WMU 2A, 3 (5); WMU 2C, 75 (127); WMU 2D, 100 (125); WMU 2E, 43 (66); WMU 2F, 177 (213); WMU 2G, 321 (357); WMU 2H, 53 (65); WMU 3A, 87 (106); WMU 3B, 152 (129); WMU 3C, 59 (53); WMU 3D, 178 (153); WMU 4A, 82 (127); WMU 4B, 36 (55); WMU 4C, 60 (92); WMU 4D, 98 (123); WMU 4E, 24 (53); WMU 5A, 2 (5) and WMU 5C, 1 (0). The latest county preliminary harvest totals for all seasons are: Northwest (535): Warren, 142; Venango, 79; Forest, 66; Jefferson, 65; Clarion, 61; Crawford, 56; Butler, 44; Erie, 15; and Mercer, 7. Pennsylvania is a really great place to be a bear. They also might act out aggressively if they decide that youre not giving them the food that they want and are accustomed to. Bears are omnivorous and consume nearly anything, including berries, grain, acorns, beechnuts, grass, table scraps, carrion, honey, and insects. Southwest (342): Somerset, 123; Fayette, 61; Armstrong, 56; Indiana, 42; Cambria, 29; Westmoreland, 28; Allegheny, 2; and Greene, 1. Other large bears taken in the 2019 bear general and extended bear seasons all taken with a rifle include: a 747-pound male taken in Wright Township, Luzerne County, by J. Kripp Jr., of Mountaintop; a 743-pound male taken in Greene Township, Pike County, by Matthew J. Erdie Jr., of Nazareth; a 696-pound male taken in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, by Brian J. Borosh, of Jim Thorpe; a 661-pound male taken in Lake Township, Wayne County, by Michael A. Biduck II, of West Abington; a 658-pound male taken in Hopewell Township, Huntingdon County, by Michael A. Collins, of Altoona; a 657-pound male taken in Franklin Township, Columbia County, by Nicholas A. Podgurski, of Elysburg; a 656-pound male taken in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, by Dale J. Kobal, of Hunlock Creek; a 623-pound male taken in Beech Creek Township, Clinton County, by Mikael J. Catanese, of Sewickley; and a 620-pound male taken in Miles Township, Centre County, by Reuben Kennel, of Turbotville. The length and timing of hunting seasons is set such that populations with greater human-bear conflicts are reduced or stabilized while areas with few conflicts are allowed to increase. The problem is people, especially those who try to feed the animals. Through interactive state and county maps for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, each page provides a snapshot of change from 2010 to 2020 on five topics. Although there's no guarantee that your bear won't stop by during the day. Lycoming County led the state with 283, followed by Clinton County with 267 and Tioga County with 261. Share their experience with a Pennsylvania bear family:http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2017/10/bear_family_surprises_rock_hou.html, Bear with wanderlust was a traveler to the end. Its the largest suite of bear-season changes ever approved in a single year, explained Matt Lovallo, agency Game Mammals Section supervisor. Pennsylvania is currently the 9th most densely populated state in the country with a density of 283.9 people per square mile. In 2015, the population of bears in the state was around 20,000. They have an acute sense of smell, relatively poor vision and hearing thought to be close to that of humans. Video below: May 2022 - bear spotted near a busy grocery store in Lancaster County. Because black bears eat so little meat, their teeth do not need to be as sharp and scissor-like as those of meat-eating animals like wolves and cats. Far behind in terms of population are Pittsburgh (304.391), Allentown (120,207), Erie and . This is not the case. Pennsylvanias black bear population was much smaller in the 1970s, according to Carrollo. The current population is believed to be around 18,000, yet there were fewer than 5,000 in Pennsylvania in the 1970s. Today, almost three times as many hunters are harvesting bears - with considerably less travel required to reach them - than 30 years ago. The most recent county-level data available by age, race, sex, and ethnicity are the Vintage 2020 Population Estimates (census.gov) for 2010 to 2019 and the Vintage 2021 Population Estimates (census.gov) for 2020 and 2021. No bears were harvested in 2017 in Beaver, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Fulton, Lancaster, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Washington or York counties. Pennsylvania hunters harvested more than 3,000 bears in the 2022 hunting seasons, including three that topped 700 pounds, according to numbers released last week by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.Video above: From the WGAL archives, bears and bird feeders.The total number of bears taken was 3,170, which was down from the 2021 total of 3,621. The black bear population in the state is over 4,500. Pennsylvania has a relatively small surface area. These were the only categories included before 1990 for the available data. Black bear in Pennsylvania: How old? Doug Pritts, 57, of Champion, Somerset County, shot the third bear of his life during the rifle season. The tags will help the Pa. Game Commission identify this bear if it is recaptured and help estimate the states bear population. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. In 2000, bear complaints in the region climbed to 813; the following year they exceeded 1,000; and in 2002 they numbered more than 1,100. If you should come upon a bear on your property, dont try to handle the situation on your own. However, between 2001 and 2021, black bears killed 28 people in North America. Breeding bears are also present on the Tug Hill Plateau in Lewis and Oswego Counties, although bear abundance is considered fairly low at this time. Slowing down for animals crossing the road and seeing plenty of wildlife in the community are ordinary interactions for residents of Pennsylvania. The largest bear through all 2019 seasons is the 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 estimate years differ from the base 2010 decennial census; underestimates will be resolved in 2023 when the Census Bureau releases its 2010-2020 intercensal estimates. For example, Pennsylvanias bear harvest in 2021 was 3,659 bears. Average adult black bears can range from 140 to 400 pounds. 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