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Bear hunting season numbers drop 30% from last year

The numbers are in, and this year’s harvest for the bear hunting season has dropped 30 percent from last year’s totals.

The Pennsylvania State Game Commission reported that the closing day of the hunting season brought in 168 bears, pushing the total to 1,796 from 54 counties.

Totals for 2016’s four day season yielded 2,579 bears. The largest harvest in state history, totaling 4,350 bears, happened in 2011.

According to the Game Commission, you can blame that drop on the rain.

“Extensive rain on the season’s opening day, Nov. 18, led to the harvest decline,” a statement from the commission said.

These numbers, however, do not provide a complete picture of the bear harvest, as “archery and other early-bear season harvest data is not included in this report,” according to the commission. Comprehensive totals will be released in the coming months.

Estimates and confirmed weigh-ins pegged the top 10 bears to have live weights of 576 pounds or more. A 700-pound male, shot by Chad A. Wagner in Oil Creek Township, Venango County, on opening day, took the top spot on the list.

Lycoming County ranked as the top bear hunting county with 130 bears, followed closely by Tioga County’s 127 bears.