Hunters this year already have harvested more bears than they did last year in Pennsylvania.
During the regular season first three days on Nov. 23, 25 and 26 hunters shot 1,498 bears.
That’s fewer than the 1,833 taken during three days of the regular season last year.
But combined with early seasons for muzzleloaders, archers and a special season for junior and senior license holders, this year’s harvest has reached 3,373, compared with 3,153 last year.
Victor Vassalluzzo took the largest bear so far. His bear weighed 813 pounds and fell in Smithfield Twp., Monroe County on Nov. 23.
Pennsylvania’s record is an 875-pound bear taken in 2010 in Middle Smithfield Twp., Pike County, in 1992.
This year, area residents had some of the heaviest bears.
J. Kripp Jr. of Mountaintop got a 747-pounder in Wright Twp.
Dale Kobal of Hunlock Creek took a bear that weighed 656 pounds in Hanover Twp.
Brian Borosh of Jim Thorpe harvested a bear weighing 696 pounds in Penn Forest Twp., Carbon County.
Three-day harvests by region and county, with 2018 figures for counties in parenthesis are as follows:
- Northwest (221): Warren, 61 (52); Clarion, 35 (37); Venango, 30 (68); Forest, 26 (52); Jefferson, 25 (64); Butler, 20 (17); Crawford, 19 (49); Mercer, 4 (12); and Erie, 1 (15).
- Southwest (114): Somerset, 34 (57); Armstrong, 30 (25); Indiana, 24 (30); Fayette, 14 (32); Cambria, 7 (13); Westmoreland, 4 (11); and Greene, 1 (0).
- Northcentral (626): Lycoming, 113 (103); Tioga, 107 (86); Clinton, 87 (119); Potter, 76 (54); McKean, 59 (43); Clearfield, 53 (72); Elk, 51 (46); Centre, 35 (46); Cameron, 30 (61); and Union, 15 (13).
- Southcentral (154): Huntingdon, 49 (76); Bedford, 34 (51); Fulton, 17 (33); Perry, 16 (14); Blair, 15 (21); Juniata, 8 (15); Mifflin, 6 (10); Franklin, 5 (14); Cumberland, 3 (4); and Adams, 1 (4).
- Northeast (349): Pike, 66 (46); Monroe, 44 (46); Luzerne, 39 (50); Bradford, 36 (46); Wayne, 35 (29); Sullivan, 30 (30); Susquehanna, 29 (10); Wyoming, 19 (24); Lackawanna, 18 (15); Carbon, 16 (25); Columbia, 12 (17); and Northumberland, 5 (17).
- Southeast (34): Dauphin, 14 (25); Schuylkill, 13 (17); Berks 6 (1); and Lebanon, 1 (7).
Even after three decades as a reporter at the Standard-Speaker, Kent Jackson still enjoys meeting people, learning more about the community and sharing stories with readers. He currently covers schools but has reported on local government, health, police and the environment. Regularly, he writes about outdoor sports, wildlife and conservation for the Wildlife page on Sundays. Contact: 570-455-3636; kjackson@standardspeaker.com
