A total of 4000 bears have been killed in the just concluded Bear hunt in Pennsylvania, a near record for the Keystone State..........In neighboring NJ, despite some bad weather that kept folks out of the woods, 469 Bruins were taken, about 130 less than last year, but within the target limit of what Wildlife Officials feel will keep the population in check.........Again, every report I post on this blog basically revolves around hunter satisfaction and carnivore reduction without commentary on what the forest needs as it relates to carnivores playing their role in keeping deer, elk and moose at numbers that optimize forest health

Bear harvest up in Pennsylvania, slightly down in New Jersey

By Mark Demko

Mike Madonia, a senior biologist with the Black Bear Project, removes the molar of a 166-pound female bear shot by Robert Melber, of Arizona, on Dec. 5 at that the Pequest Wildlife Management Area in Oxford, N.J.

If you enjoy bear hunting in this region, it's safe to say that opportunities to harvest a bruin have never been better.  Proof of that was evident during the recent bear seasons, when Pennsylvania's hunt yielded one of the best harvests in history, while New Jersey bruin hunters took more than 400 of the animals during the state's second season in two years.

According to preliminary figures released by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, 3,968 bears were taken in the Keystone State in 2011, placing the harvest second only to 2005, when a record 4,164 bears were killed. The agency attributes the strong harvest to several factors including the fact that a record 162,154 bear hunting licenses were sold and there were more opportunities than ever to pursue bruins thanks to a five-day archery season, four-day statewide firearms season and the return of extended seasons in several Wildlife Management Units this year.

"This year's harvest should result in a stable bear population over the next 12 months," said PGC bear biologist Mart Ternent. "Although some areas of the state, particularly northern-tier counties, saw a significant increase in the bear harvest, bear numbers in those areas had been increasing and a large harvest was desired.

"A fairly good beechnut crop, combined with late harvest of corn in some areas and abundant apples this fall, likely played a role in bolstering hunter success in these northern counties," Ternent said. "We will spend the next month analyzing all of the harvest results, and final figures should be available by late January."

The county giving up the most bruins was Tioga, where 343 were harvested. That was followed by Potter, which gave up 327 bears, and Lycoming, where 291 animals were killed. Closer to home, sportsmen harvested 87 bruins in Monroe County and 43 in Carbon County. Locally, Northampton County gave up four bruins, while three were taken in Lehigh County.

In the Garden State, preliminary figures from the Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Fish & Wildlife show that hunters took 469 bruins during this year's six-day bear season Dec. 5-10. While that number is down from the 592 killed last year, it's still within the range that the DEP had hoped for to help keep the population in check.

"It was within range, but a little bit on the low end. That was because of some inclement weather in the middle of the week that really suppressed the numbers significantly," said DEP spokesman Larry Hajna. "The harvest the first day of the season was right in line with what we had experienced during last season. The final number was 257 for the first day (this year); If I'm not mistaken, I think it was 263 or 264 in 2010."

Each year, some extremely large bruins are taken as part of the hunt, and this year was no exception. On Dec. 9, Morris County hunter Bruce Headley took a huge boar that was estimated to have a live weight of 829 pounds, making it the heaviest bruin ever killed in the Garden State.
Pennsylvania, which has long been known for giving up some truly massive bears, also yielded some impressive animals this year, with eight hunters taking bears that weighed more than 700 pounds. The largest, taken Nov. 16 during the archery season, was a 767-pound male killed in Monroe County by Joseph C. Colyer of Pocono Lake.