Over 2,900 bears harvested last year in PA as number of hunters surge, game commission reports

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports more hunters are harvesting black bears in the state, leading to 2,920 being taken in 2023.

Only white-tailed deer put more hunters in Pennsylvania’s woods than bears, the report states.

There were fewer than 130,000 bear hunters in 2003. In 2023, that number surged to 206,124.

Bears were taken in 58 of 67 counties.

The largest was a 691-pound bear taken in the extended rifle season in Porter Township, Pike County. Five other hunters got bears exceeding 600 pounds, and the top ten heaviest bears weighed at least 575 pounds, the game commission says.

In the southwest region, 141 bears were harvested in 2023: Armstrong, 41; Somerset, 32; Indiana, 24; Fayette, 23; Westmoreland, 13; Cambria, 5; Greene, 1; Beaver, 1; and Allegheny, 1.

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