Out There: Stories From the Woods

Last week we published Bear Harvest 2021 basic data so I decided to dive in deeper to those numbers and report to you the most interesting things about it.

In a given year the PA Game Commission sells about 200,000 bear tags with roughly 3,000 to 4,000 (about 2%) of those tags being attached to the hunter’s take.

Even though bears are present throughout the state, we are fortunate to live in a portion of the state where bears are typically more plentiful. Clinton, Lycoming, and Tioga Counties normally have the highest harvest numbers statewide.

Clinton County came in at #5 in the top 10 counties of the state for bear harvest.

Lycoming – 211
Potter – 180
Pike – 167
Tioga – 165
Clinton – 156
Bradford – 136
Sullivan – 127
Wayne – 120
Centre – 118
Huntingdon – 115

About 800 bears were harvested on the first day alone; Saturday, November 20, and then that number dropped down to 266 on Sunday, November 21. In total 3,650 bears were harvested throughout Pennsylvania.

When it comes to weight, one lucky hunter from Franklin County pulled a 722 black bear out of the woods. Clinton County came out at #10 with a 602 pounder.

Franklin – 722 pounds
Luzerne – 681 pounds
Armstrong – 676 pounds
Snyder – 649 pounds
Lycoming – 640 pounds
Clearfield – 640 pounds
Carbon – 615 pounds
Pike – 614 pounds
Clearfield – 605 pounds
Clinton – 602 pounds

What is not surprising is that the majority of counties in the far western end of the state hugging the Ohio border, and the southeastern corner within 60 miles north and west of Philadelphia all reported an average number of 0 bears harvested.

The Pennsylvania black bear, Ursus americanus, is one of the largest and most secretive animals living in the state. Weights can range anywhere from 140 to 400 pounds with rare individuals weighing more than 800 pounds.

Even though bears are primarily found in large forested areas statewide, sightings have been confirmed in every county.