Pennsylvania Game News - October 2022 - 8

Add a sizeable bear population to
those opportunities and it's no wonder
bears now trail only whitetails as the
most sought-after game species in Pennsylvania.
" For
the last decade or so, the bear
population is the highest it's been since
we began tracking these numbers, " Carrollo
said. " There are a lot of bears and
quality habitat that keeps bears moving
throughout the landscape from summer to
fall to find food. These two things provide
an excellent opportunity for bear hunters. "
That's a far cry from eras gone by.
There was a time - a long time - when
Pennsylvania just didn't have many bears.
Hunters harvested an average of 424 animals
per year between 1915 and 1979,
with an all-time low of 149 in 1942.
Seasons were consequently short.
Pennsylvania offered only three days
of bear hunting, the Monday through
Wednesday before Thanksgiving, as
recently as 2001.
Today, the state offers more than 43
days of bear hunting, at least in spots.
Pennsylvania's bear population, meanwhile,
is estimated at 16,000 animals.
That down a bit from a few years ago,
by design.
" However, it is still a very strong population
of bears, and continues to be significantly
higher than what bear populations
were over the last century and even 10 to
20 years ago, " Carrollo said.
That's partly the result of conservative
seasons, forest regeneration and, later, a
Game Commission bear trap-and-transfer
STUDYING IMPACTS ON SOWS
Harvest a Pennsylvania black bear and chances
are roughly 50-50 it will be a female. That's not
changed in a long time.
But this has.
The female harvest rate - the percentage
of female bears removed from the total female
population - has increased recently. It was 13%
for the longest time; it's been 20% the last three
years.
We'll know soon if that matters. A research
project looking at whether females are more
vulnerable to harvest in earlier bear seasons, and
what that means, is wrapping up this fall.
" That rate is what we are researching, to
understand its impacts, and how we can adjust
the seasons if we feel it's too much for the bear
population to handle, " said Game Commission
bear biologist Emily Carrollo.
It's a question of timing. Food availability
generally determines when bears den up. They
remain active only so long as they can eat enough
to make it worth their while.
" The caloric-intake-to-energy-output equation
must be heavily one-sided toward the calories
being consumed, " Carrollo said.
The one exception is with pregnant females.
They den earlier than other bears - typically
8
starting in mid-November - no matter what to
" prepare for birth in the den that following January, "
Carrollo added. Sows with young-of-the-year
cubs born the previous January follow, denning
in late November. Yearlings or juvenile bears den
next, in early to mid-December. Adult males go
last, denning between early and late December.
Pennsylvania's statewide regular bear season
was originally slotted on the calendar to avoid
taking too many females, thereby allowing the
population to grow. That worked. Carrollo said
bear numbers tripled from 1980 to 2000, going
from roughly 4,000 to 12,000. They ultimately
reached 20,000.
Earlier, additional seasons followed to increase
opportunity and better manage that population.
The research concluding this fall will say whether
they now need tweaked.
" We will have plenty of information to make a
well-informed decision about how season structure
will look in the future, " Carrollo said.
Also winding up this fall is research looking at
new ways of estimating the state's bear population
at the state and Wildlife Management Unit
levels. Results from both projects should be ready
in time to consider for the 2023 hunting seasons,
Carrollo said.
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2022

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