Black Bear Program News Today

HARRISBURG -- There was a time when black bear hunting occupied a faithful, but small, niche in Pennsylvania’s hunting calendar. That’s true no more. The

Pennsylvania had fewer than 130,000 bear hunters in 2003. In 2023, it had 206,124. That total - the fourth-highest ever - marked the fifth year in a row that bear license sales topped 200,000. White-t...

HARRISBURG — There was a time when black bear hunting occupied a faithful, but small, niche in Pennsylvania’s hunting calendar. That’s true no more.

Pennsylvania hunters have bagged 2,685 bears as of Nov. 29 this year, leaving plenty of catching up to do to meet or exceed the 3,170 harvested in 2023.