Big bears in PA

Population continues to climb despite large harvest

By MICHEL LEGRAND

SHOHOLA, PA — An hour after the weigh station opened on the first day of bear hunting season, 25 bears had been weighed and recorded into the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) field computers, situated in a large garage off Route 6, on the edge of the state game lands.

“We had quite a start,” said bear check station attendant Jay Sporer, of Honesdale. “When we opened up at noon, we had already quite a backlog and the first bear weighed in at 553 pounds.”

Since bear permits were first issued in 1981 in an effort to reduce over harvesting from too many hunters, “the Pennsylvania bear population has been steadily increasing” said volunteer John Crerand. “We do sex, weight, tag, slice a tooth for age and check for possible lactation,” said Crerand. “Every bear shot has to be brought in within 24 hours.”

According to John Shutkufski, a land management supervisor, this is the third year that bear and deer season overlap. “The goal is to harvest more bears,” he said. In Pike and Wayne counties, the overlap started with the opening of deer season, November 28 to December 3.

“The overlap has a been very positive tool for us. The number of licenses issued has gone up, while we have created more opportunities for hunters. And it has helped reduce bear-human interaction; we are educating bears to some extent,” said Calvin DuBrock, PGC Wildlife Management Director. DuBrock had come from Harrisburg that morning “to make certain that the correct data is being collected and transmitted to the state biologists, especially the accurate recording of bears previously tagged.”

The tagging system, whereby bears are marked in the summer and counted as they return in the harvest, helps biologists to estimate the bear population. The most recent pre-season estimate, calculated in 2004, was between 13,000 and 14,000 statewide.

According to DuBrock, the habitat could handle more bears but “people don’t tolerate them.” A significant number of complaints are recorded every year, although “troublesome bears are very rare,” said DuBrock. “Sometimes, bears break into homes and owners do not like that,” he said.

Bear hunting is becoming more popular and is an exciting new experience for hunters.

“This is my first one ever,” said Tom Rode of Marshalls Creek. “I missed one last year; I missed this one,” pointing to a male 158-pound bear shot by friend Tim Tharp. “I finally got that one,” he said, pointing to a 429-pound bear.

“It’s not often that we see one like that one,” Sporer said.

The average female bear taken by hunters in Pennsylvania weighs 150 pounds, while the average male bear weighs 200 pounds.

Bear meat “is good to eat” according to PGC handouts, “if properly taken care of” by thoroughly field dressing as soon as possible and rinsing the body cavity with water or snow.

“I had [bear] a few times,” Crerand said, “and it tasted really good, but the general public does not appreciate it yet.”