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Pennsylvania’s black bear population hasn’t changed much over the last few years, hovering around 18,000 bruins.
As a result, not much has changed when it comes to the forecast for the upcoming bear seasons: It should be a good one.
Leading the way is the statewide archery bear season, which opens Monday. And after that five-day season comes to a close on Nov. 20, properly licensed hunters who still are in pursuit of a bear can participate in the four-day general season that opens Saturday, Nov. 21 and runs from Monday, Nov. 23 to Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Last year, hunters harvested 3,366 bears – the seventh-largest harvest in history which continued a remarkable run of nine of the largest bear harvests occurring in the last 10 years. During that span, hunters took more than 34,000 bears in the state and, last year, bears were harvested in 56 of 67 counties.
There’s a good chance that success will be continued this year as more than 175,000 licensed bear hunters will hit the woods.
“It’s as good as it’s ever been,” said Pennsylvania Game Commission bear biologist Mark Ternent of the state’s bear population.
As far as if the bears will be out when the general season opens on Nov. 21, Ternent said food availability influences hibernation and right now things look good across much of the state.
“Our surveys are telling us there are average or above average food source. The bears will be out there,” he said. “When food is plentiful in the fall, bears tend to stay more active during hunting seasons, rather than entering their dens early. They also tend to be more predictable and travel less, which means that bears discovered during preseason scouting typically still can be found in the same area come hunting season.”
The primary food source for many wildlife species, including bears, is acorns. In the northeast, there are places where the acorn crop is spotty due to the defoliation caused by gypsy moths in the summer.
In those areas, Ternent said there may be other food sources that will hold bears, such as apples and other mast.
“The most important thing on a bear’s mind right now is finding food. They will travel and if the oaks haven’t produced look for other sources, such as beech, hickory and agricultural crops,” Ternent said. “When acorn crops fail, we’ve seen bears shift to areas where hickory nuts are prevalent.”
And then there’s the weather.
While food availability primarily dictates if bears will hibernate, the weather determines if hunters will be in the woods. Forecasts are predicting a mild, cloudy day for the Nov. 21 opener.
“That’s good hunting weather,” Ternent said. “Our best success rates occur in years with a few inches of snow on the ground, but this is the next best. Rain and fog which limits visibility are the worst weather conditions.”
While bear numbers are high as well as the number of hunters, Ternent said there is a healthy number of large bears in the state. In 2014, there were 41 bears that weighed 500 pounds or more in the 2014 harvest. Three reached more than 600 pounds and the largest weighed 677 pounds.
Ternent said most of the largest bears harvested come from the northeast, particularly the Poconos.
Ternent will be on the lookout for those large bears when he spends the opening day working a check station in Clinton County, and after more than two decades as a bear biologist, Ternent said he never gets tired of seeing successful hunters bring in their bruins.
“I’ve handled a lot of bears in 25 years and every one is interesting,” he said. “It’s a busy day, but I enjoy interacting with the hunters and seeing their excitement from harvesting a bear.”