HARRISBURG – Hunters interested in learning the age of the bear they harvested during the 2010 seasons can log onto the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Web site.
To access the database providing this information, click on “Hunt/Trap” in the menu bar at the top of the page, then click on “Hunting,” scroll down and click on “Black Bear” in the “Big Game” listing, and then scroll down and click on “Black Bear Age Data” in the “Reference” listing.
“As a cost-cutting measure, the Game Commission no longer mails a certificate and letter to successful bear hunters notifying them of their bear’s age,” said Carl G. Roe, agency executive director. ”
To maintain this valued customer service, however, we provide hunters with a certificate at the check station when their bear is processed, and information about how and when they can find the age data, which is determined by examining a tooth from the bear that is extracted as part of the check station processing, on our website.”
Ages are available only for bears from which a tooth was pulled. To access the data and learn the age of their bear, a hunter will need to have their legal seal number from the check station certificate. If the hunter no longer has the seal number, age data also is provided in charts broken down by county of harvest.
In 2010, Pennsylvania’s 161,119 licensed bear hunters took 3,090 bears, which is the state’s fifth highest harvest recorded in Pennsylvania. The record bear harvest of 4,164 was set in 2005.