In the wintry weather that enveloped much of Pennsylvania on Nov. 26, the final day of the statewide firearms bear season, hunters harvested 100 bears, according to preliminary figures released today by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

That final-day total pushed the harvest during the four-day 2014 season to 2,444, down slightly compared to the 2,473 bears taken during the statewide season in 2013.

Extended season harvest totals, as well as harvest totals from the bear archery season and other early bear seasons will be released following the close of all bear hunting in late January.

Bears were harvested in 54 counties during the statewide season.

And two of the larger bears in the harvest were taken beyond the season's midway point.

John L. Thrush, of Boiling Springs, on Nov. 26 harvested a bear estimated at 597 pounds while hunting in Delmar Township, Tioga County; while Gabriel J. Heckman, of Shelocta, took a 579-pounder in Armstrong Township, Indiana County of Nov. 25.

Those bears, by weight, rank as the fourth- and fifth-largest taken during the statewide season.

And with the addition of those bears, the top 10 bears processed at check stations during the statewide season were either estimated or confirmed to have live weights of 557 pounds or more, based on the preliminary totals.

The largest of those bears - a male estimated at 677 pounds - was taken in Pittsfield Township, Warren County by James M. Hultberg, of Pittsfield, during the Nov. 22 opener.

Other large bears include: a 623-pound male taken in West Buffalo Township, Union County by Fred F. Stoltzfus, of Lewisburg.; a 598-pound male taken in Muddy Creek Township, Butler County by Jeffrey L. McClymonds of Slippery Rock; a 574-pound male taken in Tyrone Township, Blair County, by Ray E. Golden, of Tyrone; a 560-pound male taken in Black Township, Somerset County, by Derek J. Wheeler, of Uniontown; a 559-pound male taken in Delmar Township, Tioga County by K.L. Sarangoulis, of Reading; a 558-pound male taken in West Branch Township, Potter County, by Colton P. Group, of Landisburg.; and a 557-pound male taken in Portage Township, Cambria County, by Brett A. Robine, of Irwin.

The top bear harvest county in the state during the statewide season was Lycoming County, with 208.

In the Northeast, bears harvested were: Sullivan, 47; Luzerne, 45; Monroe, 38; Susquehanna, 32; Wayne, 32; Carbon, 29; Wyoming, 26; Lackawanna, 14; Columbia, 10; and Northumberland, 2.

Harvests in the Southeast were: Schuylkill, 25; Dauphin, 17; Berks, 3; Lebanon, 2; Lehigh, 2; and Northampton, 1.