pennsylvania bear population by countypennsylvania bear population by county

Black bears, of which there are an estimated 20,000 in Pennsylvania, are roaming across nearly all the state. Please enable scripts and reload this page. 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. Anything that hangs and swings will inevitably turn into a bear toy and will be quickly disassembled, limit the amount of food you put out to what your birds can clean up during the day and always store bird foods indoors. 368, an ad hoc group of volunteers managed to cut through and remove what appeared to be a large plastic bucket from the young black bear's head. The response from hunters to the expanded seasons and the success they enjoyed afield were exciting to see.. The snow really helped us out, and Im really thankful for my harvest, he said. However, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission bear specialist Emily Carrollo, there is no reason for concern. The only other year hunters took more than 4,000 bears was in 2005 when 4,164 were taken. It is also unlawful to set out any food for wildlife that causes bears to congregate or become accustomed to a particular place. Northcentral (653): Lycoming, 118 (107); Tioga, 113 (90); Clinton, 93 (128); Potter, 79 (62); McKean, 60 (47); Clearfield, 54 (80); Elk, 53 (47); Centre, 35 (52); Cameron, 32 (61); and Union, 16 (11). Its extremely rare, but sometimes these hyperphagic bears see humans as a potential food source. A successful black bear hunter and a Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist talk Nov. 20, 2021, about the hunting season. If the idea of having bears in your backyard creeps you out, take down your feeders or at least take them down at night. The overall total bear population for Pennsylvania is estimated by the Game Commission to be 15,500 bruins. The record bear harvest of 2005 was the result of several factors: increased opportunity, increased participation, near-record bear populations and great bear-hunting weather. The seven top harvests all have occurred since 2005. 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. A few miles outside of Jersey Shore, Stan and Rob Shrader are parked next to the Antes Fort firehall in their green pickup, waiting on the game commission. They have an acute sense of smell, relatively poor vision and hearing thought to be close to that of humans. I'm Jack Hubley News eight. Only 9 of the contiguous U.S. states dont have breeding black bear populations. Read more about a bear with an urge to wander:http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2017/11/bear_with_wanderlust_was_a_tra.html. Theres plenty of resources for them. 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. Carrollo says hes one of the biggest shes ever tagged well over 300 pounds. In general, the population increases in Pennsylvania's counties are fairly modest. Since then, the population has taken off, to its current number of around 16,000. 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. The information we use to assess the bear population and bear habitat is documented in a written bear management system (PDF) developed in1986, which contains criteria for decision-making and management options. They are generally non-aggressive. Reid R. Frazier covers energy for The Allegheny Front. How big? They could be cinnamon or even blond. A white blaze or V can be seen on the chests of many bears. As of the 2020 census, the population was 325,594, making it the . We are biologists, but in reality, were mostly managing people, making management plans that help kind of construct rules and regulations and how to get people to behave, to be able to interact with wildlife so we can maintain these populations and preserve them for future generations, Carrollo says. Average adult black bears can range from 140 to 400 pounds. The bear wandered into the trap sometime over the last 24 hours, lured by about a dozen stale donuts Carrollo left inside as bait. In the late 1990s, staff members in the 13 counties that compose the agency's Northeast Region were responding to about 600 bear complaints annually. es a really good-looking bear, she says, before offering something like a scouting report: fantastic body weight, no bony protrusions indicating malnourishment, no signs of mange, a great looking coat of black fur. Keep up with the latest data and most popular content, Vintage 2020 Population Estimates (census.gov), Vintage 2021 Population Estimates (census.gov). Field studies from across the United States, including Pennsylvania, show that predators - notably coyotes, bears, and bobcats - prey on white-tailed deer. Harvests there in the past three years have been 243 (2016), 312 (2015) and 286 (2014). Our library of stories about bears should answer any question you might have. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Today, almost three times as many hunters are harvesting bears - with considerably less travel required to reach them - than 30 years ago. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The largest bear taken in Pennsylvania in the 2022 hunting season was a 755-pounder in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WGAL-TV. Across Pennsylvania, 11 bears topped 600 pounds. It has afflicted mammals around the world for centuries. Aside from that, they can potentially cause significant damage to your home and or vehicles. Today the father and son, who come from New Oxford, are the first hunters at the station. In 1987 the second largest black bear by Boone and Crocket measurements was killed by a poacher in Lycoming County. The Game Commission estimates that there are about 18,000 bears in the state. Pennsylvania has a large, thriving bear population. Black bears have diverse life cycles, denning times, tolerance of human activities, habitat preferences, movement patterns, reproduction behavior, pelt colors, and even height and weight, depending on where they live. Bears are drawn to beehives, especially when they emerge from hibernation in the spring and when honey production is highest in the late summer and fall. This year, the Pennsylvania Game. And on Oct. 15, a hunter shot a 705-pound bear with a muzzleloader in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County. Southcentral (172): Huntingdon, 52 (78); Bedford, 37 (54); Fulton, 21 (35); Perry, 19 (14); Blair, 16 (22); Juniata, 8 (16); Mifflin, 8 (10); Franklin, 6 (14); Cumberland, 3 (4); and Adams, 2 (5). And remember that penn's woods is the black bear's woods too. Pennsylvania's population increased 7 out of the 11 years between year 2010 and year 2021. Even though they are named black bears, their colors can vary from black, blue-grey, cinnamon, brown, blue-black, and on infrequent occasions, a black bear can even be white. They are the most common and well-known bears native to North America. 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. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. Giving animals their space and giving them the ability to remove themselves from the scenario if they want to get out of it is the most important thing, she says. These are Philadelphia County, which is coterminous with the city of Philadelphia and has a population of 1,574,765 (even though it is the second smallest county in the state by land area), and Allegheny County, with its . Fifteen minutes later, she and a couple of helpers Tom Keller, the game commissions game animal section supervisor (and Carrollos boss), and Scott Miller, the district forester for Tuscarora State Forest, west of Harrisburg, pull the bear onto the forest floor. Ken Nichols of Lemont Furnace, Fayette County, killed his first bear about 50 yards away with two other bears while hunting Saturday in Forbes State Forest. They were practically decimated into small subpopulations. A 747-pound bear was shot in Lycoming County. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. According to Dustin Stoner, who is an Information and Education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, many times when you have a nuisance bearroaming your property, it will be during mating season, which runs from the end of May through early July. A dramatic growth has provided more opportunities for people to see bears, which is an experience many treasure, and bear hunting has greatly improved. Lets say that 4.46% of the harvested bears had ear tags in 2021, and the total amount of tagged bears was 700. we would next need to ascertain what number 700 is 4.46% of. If you have a vegetable garden, a chicken coop, an orchard, bee boxes, or any other outside bear attractants, you should consider using electric fencing to keep the bears at bay. These include Forest County (7,306), Juniata County (24,475), and Susquehanna County (41,238). Clearfield County: 114 bears. Regionally, 87 bears were harvested in neighboring Berks (17), Dauphin (67), Lebanon (2) and York (1) counties. Inside, the light makes visible the head of a large black bear long brown snout, round teddy-bear ears, dark eyes. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Successful bear hunters are required to have the Game Commission check their trophy animals. Brown bears are coming into contact with people more frequently (Ben Birchall/PA) The Trento provincial authorities ordered the bear to be killed but an animal rights group . Bountiful Black Bears. However, between 2001 and 2021, black bears killed 28 people in North America. Although harvest has greatly increased, it has remained within acceptable limits. Population trend and harvest levels are closely monitored annually," a statement on the Game Commission's website says. This story is part of our series, Wild Pennsylvania. Photo: Reid R. Frazier / The Allegheny Front, Emily Carrollo prepares for tagging and taking measurements and samples from a captured black bear. Adults typically average around 200 pounds, with males often weighing more than twice as much as females. Today, harvest during the extended season accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the total harvest in those areas. What triggers hibernation in Pennsylvania black bears? Southwest (123): Somerset, 35 (57); Armstrong, 32 (26); Indiana, 27 (31); Fayette, 15 (39); Cambria, 9 (16); Westmoreland, 4 (14); and Greene, 1 (0). Fredrick Smith, 57, of Kennells Mills, Somerset County, got the second bear of his life Saturday afternoon while hunting near his home. See. Here are some examples. 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. If you live in a wooded area of the Susquehanna Valley and love to feed birds, you could find yourself in Marianne's shoes. 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. Statewide season harvests by county and region are: Northwest (238): Warren, 67 (59); Clarion, 38 (41); Venango, 35 (78); Forest, 27 (55); Jefferson, 26 (69); Butler, 21 (19); Crawford, 19 (59); Mercer, 4 (13); and Erie, 1 (18). Theres plenty of land. Black bears gain weight in the late summer and fall in preparation for their winter hibernation. They really try and avoid any kind of conflict with people, they look at us as a threat. The problem is people, especially those who try to feed the animals. Our goal was to offer more hunting opportunities and prevent Pennsylvanias bear population from increasing, noted Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. The male bruin was killed early in the morning on Sunday, November 12, while attempting to cross Interstate 78 near Lenhartsville in Berks County. Bear numbers in the state are down a bit in recent years, but there are still plenty of them. TNS HARRISBURG (TNS) The black bear population across Pennsylvania is. For population by age, USAFacts grouped people ages 04 in different ways depending on the census. Black bears are generally a non-aggressive species of bear. Incredible encounter:Longbow hunter describes his encounter with massive black bear in Bedford County, Bear season preview:Hunters find three bears weighing more than 700 pounds as rifle seasons soon get underway. Two counties in the state of Pennsylvania have populations of more than one million. The less than 1 and 1 to 4 groups for the 1990 and 2000 censuses were combined to create a consistent 0 to 4 group across all available data. The bear season stats in 2020 and 2021 were also relatively successful. Camp Hill Police are seeking reports of other sightings. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The only other year hunters took more than 4,000 bears was in 2005 when 4,164 were taken. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania. Read more of the explanation of hibernation in bears in Pennsylvania:http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2010/01/what_triggers_hibernation_in_p.html, Epidemic of mange is killing Pennsylvania bear. How many? http://www.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2016/04/could_you_survive_a_pennsylvan.html, http://www.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2017/11/black_bear_in_pennsylvania_how.html, http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2010/01/what_triggers_hibernation_in_p.html, http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2018/05/mange_epidemic_in_pennsylvania.html, http://www.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2016/04/what_are_your_chances_of_hitti.html, http://blog.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2014/09/bucket_bear_freed_of_its_bucke.html, http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2017/10/bear_family_surprises_rock_hou.html, http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2017/11/bear_with_wanderlust_was_a_tra.html, http://blog.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2016/01/baby_black_bears_being_born_al.html, http://www.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2018/04/how_many_bears_did_pennsylvani_2.html, http://www.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2017/11/wheres_the_best_bear_hunting_i.html, http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/11/black_bear_pennsylvania_huntin.html. A black bears biting force (975 PSI) is powerful enough that it may kill numerous species by digging its 2.5-inch fangs into a crucial spot. Bear numbers in Pennsylvania were once dangerously low. The black bears 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. Any comparison of data from before 1990 only includes the white, Black, and Other race/ethnicity categories. A number of other counties in Pennsylvania, while not quite as large, still have substantial populations. Last fall, 215,219 hunters bought bear licenses resulting in 3,621 animals being killed in 59 of the states 67 counties. The black bears scientific name, Ursus americanus, means American bear in English. A percentage of those 3,659 were tagged bears. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Its news the Game Commission preferred to share as soon as possible. Video below: May 2022 - bear spotted near a busy grocery store in Lancaster County. If you see a black bear in the woods, the best advice is to simply allow them to retreat. Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, an adult black bear is capable of bending your car door in half if it decides it wants to get inside. Consequently, sometimes humans find themselves living in close proximity to bear country. The quick answer is yes, but only black bears are present in the state. 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. The additional days and increased number of bear hunters appear to have made a significant difference. Bad weather negatively affected hunting conditions on key hunting days. See. Expanded hunting opportunities provided by new special-firearms and muzzleloader bear seasons and an expanded archery bear season have helped push the 2019 bear harvest. The heaviest bear ever taken in Pennsylvania was an 875-pound bear in 2010 in Pike County. Black bears are extremely docile, she says. When on all fours, black bears stand around three feet tall, and five to seven feet tall when standing erect. Sometimes the bears are attracted into close quarters with human populations by their keen sense of smell. The heaviest bear ever taken in Pennsylvania was an 875-pounder . Black bears range is large they live from Canada to Mexico and eat a varied diet of plants, nuts, and berries. So she's offering a few tips first. You Should clean your barbecue grill after every use and store it inside. You know, they try and walk up and feed black bears because they think its cute. Don't invest in fancy cable and pulley arrangements. Are they everywhere in the state? In Pennsylvania, intentionally feeding bears is illegal. Here is how they accomplish this. They really want nothing to do with people.. The bears skull measurement was23-3/16 inches. Some counties are traditionally the top producers of black bears - notably counties in the northcentral and northeastern regions of the state - and generally can be expected to repeat with similar results in the coming hunting season. In 2004, hunters took 2,972 bears from 53 counties. For example: in 2003 a regulation was passed that makes it illegal to feed bears; a statewide database for documenting human-bear conflicts is now in place; and emphasis has been put on educational efforts to show people how to coexist with bears. 90% of black bear attacks on humans are predatory. For example, the largest bear ever recorded in Lancaster County a 550-pounder was live-trapped at Leola and relocated to Stony Valley in Dauphin County last week. The Pennsylvania firearms hunting season for bear opens Saturday, November 17, and speculation is running high on whether this will be the year that hunters top the existing record of 4,350 bears harvested in 2011. Clinton County: 113 bears. A bear may damage multiple beehives to get at the honey and bees. Mange is a highly contagious skin disease carried by parasitic mites that results in hair loss and sometimes emaciation and death. Northeast (1,214): Luzerne, 161; Pike, 161; Monroe, 130; Wayne, 130; Bradford, 125; Carbon, 87; Sullivan, 85; Susquehanna,82; Wyoming, 82; Lackawanna, 75; Columbia, 64; Northumberland, 25; and Montour, 7. The Pennsylvania Game Commission's preliminary report reveals that hunters killed 1,010 bears in the rifle season and 1,451 in the variety of early seasons. Large metropolitan regions and agricultural areas, such as the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania and parts of the western border, do not have enough forest habitat, therefore bears spotted there are primarily temporary. In civilian labor force, total, percent of population age 16 years+, 2017-2021: 62.9%: In civilian labor force, female, percent of population age 16 years+, 2017-2021: 58.8%: Total accommodation and food services sales, 2017 ($1,000) 28,849,427: Total health care and social assistance receipts/revenue, 2017 ($1,000) 116,621,778 At this time of year, bears are going through a hyperphagic stage where they are packing on fat prior to going into their winter dens. Hes clearly getting plenty to eat and hes in really excellent shape, she concludes. Since 1992, seven black bears weighing at least 800 pounds have been lawfully harvested in Pennsylvania hunting seasons. In addition to the bears harvested by hunters, the Game Commission has received reports that 639additional black bears were killed this year by motorists. Luzerne County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km 2), of which 890 square miles (2,300 km 2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km 2) is water.It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. Massachusetts: 4,500. . The 2010-2020 postcensal estimates are known to underestimate the population by about 1% nationally. The Commonwealths previous record bear harvest occurred in 2011, when hunters took 4,350 through a slate of bear seasons. Just six years later, Pennsylvania. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Pennsylvania reports its number of black bears has decreased and that's acceptable, wildlife officials say. Boars are males, and sows are females. Quite a number of counties have had negative population growth: Cameron County, the least populous in the state, has just 4,683 residents and its population has decreased by 7.69% since the last census, while the larger Cambria County's population has reduced to 134,313, representing a 6.37% decrease. His paws measure six inches wide. In the most recent report by Pennsylvania Game Commission, more than 16,000 black bears live in Pennsylvania. Most of these consist of mixed hardwood forests with blackberries and blueberries growing beneath the forest canopy. 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. Black bears that have been habituated to human food or garbage, as well as black bears that are in a hyperphagic state as they prepare to go into their winter den, can be especially dangerous. They may scavenge for food in dumpsters at rest stops, restaurants, campgrounds, and in garbage cans at homes. Hunters killed more bears during early archery, muzzleloader and special firearms seasons than in the four-day rifle period that ended Nov. 22. The answer, of course, is 15,666. Every decade, the Bureau reconciles these estimates and releases final data. Here is an example of what Im talking about from 2016 in Berks County. The state has some large forested areas. In Pennsylvania, the woods grow right up to some agricultural areas, suburban areas, and even urban areas. The current bear population across Pennsylvania is estimated at 16,268 by the commission. Contiguous woods with bogs, marshes, mountains, and a well-established forest understory make up prime bear habitat. "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. He was only out about two hours when he saw a 300-pounder standing over the side of a hill. That ranks as the state's fifth-best harvest ever, and the second-largest recorded since 2011. His work has taken him as far away as Texas and Louisiana to report on the petrochemical industry and as close to home as Greene County, Pennsylvania to cover the shale gas boom. Enter your email in the box below to get the most mind-blowing animal stories and videos delivered directly to your inbox every day. This means that in the case of black bears, a female bear with cubs is less dangerous than a predatory male bear. The 2020 bear harvest, for comparison's sake, was 3,621. They won't be the last. They now cover more than three-quarters of the state, with sightings reported in every county. 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