Bear season almost as popular as deer
Almost as celebrated nowadays as deer season, Pennsylvania鈥檚 statewide firearms black bear season is scheduled for Nov. 18-22. Hunters with a valid bear license can also take a bear Nov. 29-Dec. 2 鈥� during the deer season 鈥� in Wildlife Management Unit 2C, which is roughly the mountain area east of Route 119. Only one bear may be taken per license year.
Prior to the 1980s, bear hunting activity was confined to the state鈥檚 northcentral and northeastern regions. But during the past quarter-century bears have expanded their numbers and their range to reclaim the ridges of southwestern Pennsylvania.
Hunters and biologists recognize that some of the best bear hunting in the state is now available right here.
鈥淚鈥檓 really impressed with the habitat here in the Southwest,鈥� said Pa. Game Commission bear biologist Mark Ternent. 鈥淭his is some of the best habitat in the state, especially on the mountain ridges in the eastern part of the region.鈥�
Ternent is talking about the region popularly known as the Laurel Highlands, basically, the Chestnut, Laurel, and Negro mountain ridges in Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties. The per-square-mile density of bear kills in the region now exceeds that in much of the traditional northern bear range. A color-shaded map on the game commission website indicates that hunters take about 20 bears per forested square-mile in Wharton Township, Fayette County.
The region draws hunters not only because of its dense bear population, but also because of abundant public lands where hunters may wander at will. Various state game lands, Forbes State Forest, and Ohiopyle State Park offer more than 100,000 acres of heavily forested habitat.
Recovery of the bear population in the southwest is due to excellent habitat, greater tolerance of bears among residents, and a relocation program by the Game Commission between 1979 and 1984. During those years 72 black bears including 22 adult females with their 25 cubs were captured in northcentral and northeastern Pennsylvania, then released in Somerset and Westmoreland counties. Monitoring of radio-collared females enabled biologists to learn that relocated female bears continued to produce successful litters after their relocation. Bear populations and bear harvests have increased dramatically since the trap-and-transfer program.
Studies in Pennsylvania show that about 23 percent of male bears and 16 percent of females are removed annually by hunting. Females are somewhat less vulnerable to hunting because they tend to seek out winter dens earlier in the autumn than do males. About three percent (1 in 35) of hunters are successful in taking a bear, an increase from a 1.7 percent (1 in 60) success rate during the 1980s.
Biologists maintain that, from a biological standpoint, Pennsylvania forests could support even higher numbers of bears. Longer bear hunting seasons and more flexible bear-hunting opportunities are designed to keep bear numbers within what managers call the 鈥渃ultural carrying capacity,鈥� or the bear population that is acceptable to humans due to conflicts with bears.
鈥淚n some areas, residents are unwilling to tolerate the conflicts that typically occur when bear numbers increase, which is why hunting seasons have been expanded in some areas,鈥� Ternent said. 鈥淚nterestingly, increasing the hunting pressure on some local bear populations hasn鈥檛 hurt Pennsylvania鈥檚 bear hunting. Strong bear populations remain in Pennsylvania鈥檚 primary bear range, which stretches across the state鈥檚 northcentral and northeastern counties. Substantial populations also continue to build in counties such as Fayette, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Schuylkill, Somerset and Westmoreland.鈥�
Biologists can estimate bear populations because they live-trap and attach ear tags to a known number of bears each year. Population estimates are then based on the percentage of ear-tagged bears among the total kill.
鈥淗unters typically remove 20 percent of the population each year,鈥� Ternent said. 鈥淪urprisingly, harvest rates have changed little since 1986, indicating that increasing harvests are the result of a growing bear population and not from hunters becoming more efficient.鈥�
Hunting season dates, bag limits, habitat improvements and public education all have their origins in the Pa. Game Commission鈥檚 Bear Management Plan. Objectives of the plan are: (1) To ensure that black bear populations are healthy and self-sustaining; (2) Minimize loss of forest habitats and improve quality of existing forest habitats for black bears; (3) Provide recreational opportunities that involve black bears; and (4) Maintain human-bear conflicts at levels acceptable to Pennsylvania citizens.
Bears were long considered vermin, and Pennsylvania was the first state to establish a closed season on bears, in 1905. The season then ran from October to March and has grown shorter ever since.
BEAR HUNTING TIPS
Game Commission officials note that bear hunters should locate areas with good fall food supplies, especially acorns, beechnuts or corn before the hunting season, especially if the food source is near dense cover where bears like to hide.
鈥淪igns to look for while scouting include droppings and active trails with tracks,鈥� said Mark Ternent, Game Commission black bear biologist. 鈥淚n beech stands, look for fresh claw marks on tree trunks indicating that bears are feeding in the area, and in oak stands look for fresh droppings that are almost completely composed of acorns bits. Either of these signs suggests bears are feeding nearby.
鈥淎 good time to scout is early November, so you can assess local mast conditions. Finding a good area dramatically increases your odds of also finding a bear.鈥�
This year a challenge for bear hunters might be the abundance of mast. Dense 鈥渃arpets鈥� of acorns litter the forest across the high ridges and in many parts of the lowlands. Such plentiful food can make it difficult to pinpoint where bears might be feeding, because they have so many options. On the other hand, abundant food generally delays the time when bears seek out hibernation dens for the winter, so they remain available to hunters during the season.
BEAR HUNTING 鈥淏ULLETS鈥�
n A successful bear hunter must complete all information on his or her bear harvest tag and attach it to the ear of the animal immediately after harvest and before the carcass is moved. In addition, within 24 hours, hunters who kill a bear must take it, along with their general hunting and bear licenses, to a Game Commission check station for examination. Bear check stations are maintained at the agency鈥檚 six regional offices and at other locations listed on the Game Commission鈥檚 website. The most convenient bear check station for hunters in most of this region is the New Centerville Rural Fire Dept on Rte. 281 in Somerset County.
n It is unlawful to kill a bear in a den; use a radio to locate a bear that has a radio transmitter attached to it; hunt on areas where artificial or natural bait, hay, grain, fruit, nuts, salt, chemicals, minerals, including residue or other foods are used, or have been used, as an enticement to lure wildlife within the past 30 days.
n Bear hunters are required to wear a combined 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on their head, chest and back while bear hunting.
n Bears may be hunted with: manually-operated center-fire rifles, handguns and shotguns with a bullet designed to expand on impact. Muzzle-loading long guns 44-caliber or larger; long, recurve or compound bows or crossbows with broadheads of cutting-edge design. Crossbows must have a minimum draw weight of 125 pounds and cannot exceed 200 pounds.