HARRISBURG -- They don’t grow them this big everywhere, but Pennsylvania has its share of giant bears.
Released today by the Game Commission, the 2024 bear harvest totals prove that yet again.
Consider the Venango County bear Heath Bromley, of Titusville, got with a crossbow in October. It weighed in at 597 pounds – a tremendous bear any hunter would be happy to take.
And yet, it was just the 10th heaviest harvested by a Pennsylvania hunter in the 2024 seasons. The harvest’s nine bigger bears all topped 600 pounds, with three of them exceeding 700 pounds.
Scott Price, of Madison Township, Lackawanna County, got the largest of them all in Monroe County during the statewide regular bear season in November. It weighed 774 pounds.
Impressive as those animals are, the fact hunters run into them isn’t unusual. Pennsylvania hunters harvest big bears every year.
“Pennsylvania is home to lots and lots of great bear-friendly habitat, areas with abundant and varied food sources and thick cover,” said Brandon Snavely, the Game Commission’s black bear biologist. “That allows us not only to support lots of bears, but plenty of very, very big ones, too.”
In all, hunters harvested 2,642 bears during the 2024 seasons, placing the 2024 harvest in the top 25 on record.
As in past years, the overall bear harvest was spread across the state. Fifty-six of 67 counties gave up at least one bear, as did 21 of 22 WMUs. Hunters got bears in all seasons, too. The traditional statewide firearms bear season contributed the most to the harvest, with 823 animals. The archery season added 756, the extended season 425, the muzzleloader and special firearms season 634 and there were four harvests in the early archery season.
Between Bromley’s bear and Price’s bear, the others in the top 10 by weight are: a 714-pounder taken in rifle season in Perry Township, Clarion County, by Matthew Conto of Slippery Rock; a 700-pounder taken in archery season in Harrison Township, Potter County, by Henry Mast of Harrison Valley; a 689-pounder taken in rifle season in Chapman Township, Clinton County, by Michael Gerg of Kersey; a 681-pounder taken in archery season in Sharon Township, Potter County, by Tyler Birdsall of Milton; a 681-pounder taken in rifle season in White Haven Borough, Luzerne County, by Stanley Boc of Huntingdon Valley; a 678-pounder taken in the muzzleloader season in Lightfield Township, Bradford County, by Scott Tiffany of Athens; a 673-pounder taken in archery season in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, by Jeffrey Prinkey of Connellsville; and a 615-pounder taken in archery season in Jefferson Township, Dauphin County, by Dennis Morgan of Halifax.
Among counties, Tioga produced the most, giving up 163 bears last season. It was followed in the top 10 by Clinton with 157, Lycoming with 148, Bradford with 133, Potter with 109, Luzerne with 95, Monroe with 93, Pike with 85, McKean with 78 and Sullivan with 75.
Final county harvests by region (with 2023 figures in parentheses) are:
Northwest – 385 (357): Forest, 48 (68); Warren, 67 (65); Venango, 74 (64); Jefferson, 60 (50); Clarion, 57 (44); Butler, 38 (29); Crawford, 20 (24); Erie, 10 (8); and Mercer, 11 (5).
Southwest – 174 (141): Armstrong, 40 (41); Somerset, 34 (32); Indiana, 32 (24); Fayette, 30 (23); Westmoreland, 18 (13); Cambria, 18 (5); Greene, 2 (1); Beaver, 0 (1); and Allegheny, 0 (1).
Northcentral – 918 (1,034): Tioga, 163 (176); Lycoming, 148 (170); Potter, 109 (155); Clinton, 157 (108); Elk, 44 (90); McKean, 78 (90); Cameron, 56 (85); Clearfield, 67 (72); Centre, 64 (71); and Union, 32 (17).
Southcentral – 193 (162): Bedford, 40 (34); Mifflin, 14 (28); Huntingdon, 49 (25); Juniata, 13 (19); Perry, 12 (14); Blair, 18 (11); Adams, 7 (10); Franklin, 9 (9); Cumberland 11 (6); Fulton, 16 (4); and Snyder, 4 (2).
Northeast – 805 (1067): Pike, 85 (142); Bradford, 133 (138); Luzerne, 95 (135); Monroe, 93 (127); Wayne, 63 (124); Carbon, 62 (101); Sullivan, 75 (75); Susquehanna, 47 (67); Wyoming, 62 (62); Lackawanna, 31 (57); Columbia, 45 (27); Northumberland, 13 (10); and Montour, 1 (2).
Southeast – 167 (159): Schuylkill, 64 (65); Dauphin, 45 (42); Northampton, 28 (21); Berks, 18 (16); Lebanon, 9 (10); and Lehigh, 3 (5).
The final bear harvests by Wildlife Management Unit (with final 2023 figures in parentheses) were:
WMU 1A, 26 (19); WMU 1B, 67 (53); WMU 2A, 6 (3); WMU 2B, 2 (3); WMU 2C, 102 (87); WMU 2D, 173 (146); WMU 2E, 53 (41); WMU 2F, 213 (247); WMU 2G, 476 (565); WMU 3A, 203 (203); WMU 3B, 303 (343); WMU 3C, 145 (221); WMU 3D, 287 (451); WMU 4A, 71 (42); WMU 4B, 50 (47); WMU 4C, 197 (220); WMU 4D, 143 (124); WMU 4E, 96 (72); WMU 5A, 10 (18); WMU 5B, 2 (0); WMU 5C, 17 (15); and WMU 5D, 0 (0).
Last year, 201,280 hunters bought bear licenses for the 2024 seasons. It was the sixth-straight year bear license sales topped 200,000.
Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith said that sustained high interest isn’t surprising. While a hunter’s odds of filling a bear tag are somewhat slim, Smith said, the exciting prospects of what might happen on any given bear hunt are always present and help fuel tradition.
“Bear hunting combines so many of the elements that keep hunters coming back,” Smith said. "For some, there’s the camaraderie of going to camp or hunting with family and friends. Others might venture out alone. There’s an array of seasons. But no matter how you hunt, there’s always the anticipation of seeing a bear and making the most of your opportunity. And that opportunity, literally, might be extremely big.”