COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP -- Black bears are now an open target for hunters across the state. The season opened Saturday.
Bringing in a bear was a bear of a chore for hunter Stephen Becker of Long Pond. He went out on opening day of the season Saturday but didn't find his more than 200 pound bear until two days later.
"260 some pound bear, I shot it on Saturday but I didn't recover it until this morning. Couldn't find it, but you got to put the effort in," Becker said.
Curiosity kept Becker hot on this bear's trail, and with the help of a few friends, he hauled it into this check station at Tobyhanna State Park, the 28th bear to be weighed by the game commission in Monroe County this year.
"A couple of us keep dragging it, take a break, keep dragging it, take a break. It's not fun," said Jeff McKinney of Lancaster.
The biggest bear bagged in this area weighed in at more than 400 pounds, but hunters still have more than a week to find something even bigger.
"Especially in the Poconos area where we have a lot of bear/human conflicts, we're trying to increase that opportunity to decrease bear numbers in some areas," said wildlife conservation officer Michael Beahm.
Bear season is now open through Wednesday and then reopens December 1 through December 6 in the wildlife management unit 3D, which encompasses most of the Poconos.
This is the second year the season has been extended.
Some traditional bear hunters aren't a fan of the recent change.
"I'm not a big fan. It kind of disrupts the tradition of the three-day bear hunt. It's kind of the same thing with the doe season when the game commission changed it."
"I'm more of a traditionalist, I like the three days that it used to be and then it goes into deer."
Anyone who bags a bear must also take it to a Pennsylvania Game Commission check station. The location in the Tobyhanna area has moved to Tobyhanna State Park this year due to renovations.
