HARRISBURG, PA – Hunters have set a new Pennsylvania bear-harvest record.

Although numbers are continuing to come in, and bear hunting remains open through Saturday in some of the state’s Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), as of this morning, the 2019 preliminary bear harvest sat at 4,577.

The Commonwealth’s previous record bear harvest occurred in 2011, when hunters took 4,350 through a slate of bear seasons. Hunters also harvested 4,164 in 2005.

Expanded hunting opportunities provided by new special-firearms and muzzleloader bear seasons and an expanded archery bear season have helped push the 2019 bear harvest. Record bear license sales also have contributed: license sales currently exceed 200,000; previously they have held at highs between 170,000 and 175,000. And the statewide bear population at the start of the bear-hunting seasons was about 20,000 bears.

“Our goal was to offer more hunting opportunities and prevent Pennsylvania’s bear population from increasing,”…