These swings appear to be related to food availability and weather conditions, but we don't know for sure. Bears were harvested in 50 of the state's 67 counties. Hunters in Franklin County took a bear there for the first time. Snow gave hunters a visual advantage. They could see where fresh bear sign was and had fresh tracks to follow.
Hunters trailing tracks move bears, and once bears start moving, they're much more vulnerable.
A good example of how snow aids hunters can be traced from the recent harvests in Somerset and Westmoreland counties, which typically have similar bear kills. Alt believes this year's substantial harvest will not adversely affect the bear population. We've been through this before, as recently as 1995, when the state's second largest harvest occurred. Hunters followed that in 1996 with a kill of 1,796, then the third largest kill ever. The Pennsylvania Game Commission welcomes your comments and suggestions to improve our Web Site in order to better serve the public.