Bear Harvest Nears Record in Pa.

Bear hunters started Pennsylvania’s statewide four-day black bear season last Saturday with good weather and a preliminary harvest of 1,015 black bears.

Over the past two years, bear hunters have had some bad luck with weather, which has held down the harvest in Pennsylvania and helped maintain a bear population of around 20,000.

But this year, bear hunters are off to a fine start in Penn’s Woods.

Although the 2019 opening-day harvest is lower than last year’s – 1,241 bears, it raises the total Pennsylvania bear harvest to 2,886 when combined with a slate of earlier bear seasons inc...