Length Legal Kill1 Sample Average Age2

The black bear, Ursus americanus, in Pennsylvania is a trophy that is sought by as many as 130, 000 hunters each year. The heavy hunting pressure and other factors are causing increased concern for the welfare and survival of huntable populations of bears in the state. Records of annual harvests since 1915, demonstrate the productivity of the range, the long-term value of the resource and the interest of the hunters in this animal. There have been only two closed hunting seasons, 1934 and 1970. The 1970 closure occurred when annual harvests were less than 300 animals (Table 1). The season was closed to allow the bear population to increase and maintain itself without the pressure of hunting losses. With the bear on the endangered list in Maryland, nearly extirpated from New Jersey, and possibly over-harvested in the Catskill Mountain section of New York, any indications of a decline in the Pennsylvania bear population are cause for increased concern to hunters and the general public. Thus, when the legal harvest during a one-day season declined from 370 in 1972 to 299 in 1973, a decline in the population was suspected. In view of the heavy hunting pressure on the bear and the general interest in its welfare, a more sensitive management program for Pennsylvania's bear population is needed. The bear population in Pennsylvania is widely distributed on good-quality range. Individual animals are healthy, the population is productive, and mos