Pennsylvania’s black bear population is down again for a second straight year, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Emily Carrollo, commission black bear specialist, estimated the state is home to 15,666 bears, which is down from an estimated 16,268 last year.

But, she said, “at a healthy population of almost 16,000 bears, I’m not worried about it at this point.”

Pennsylvania has seen similar declines in bear numbers in 2 other recent periods – 2005 to 2007 and 2010 to 2012 – both after years of high bear harvests by hunters.

Hunters killed 3,659 bears last year, which ranks as Pennsylvania’s No. 5 largest bear harvest behind 2019, with a harvest of 4,653; 2011, harvest of 4,350; 2005, harvest of 4,162; and 2015, harvest of 3,748. The other harvests in the top 10 are 3,632 in 2012, 3,621 in 2020, 3,619 in 2021, 3,530 in 2016, and 3,512 in 2009.

“There is potentially as effect of having that really high harvest and noticing those decreases in the following 2 years, which follows the life history of reproductive strategy for black bears,” Carrollo said.

“I’m not predicting anything for the future, but that is something for us to be aware of and keep track of moving forward.”

She noted that bear harvest rates have not change much over the past 20 years, standing at about 20 percent of the state’s bear population each year. But in each of the past 3 years they’ve been higher, about 22 percent, and in 2021 was about 23 percent.

Carrollo pointed to the harvest rate of female bears as being of more concern and warranting a newly launched research project. While the harvest rate of females was about 13 percent from 2010-2018, it is now averaging about 22 percent.

Pa. hunters turn in fifth-largest bear harvest, including 722-pounder in central Pa.

“If we need to make changes, we will be able to make them accordingly and in an appropriate amount of time,” she said. “In addition to that, over the last 40 years we’ve done an incredible job as an agency increasing our black bear population.

“In the simplest terms, we know the recipe to make more bears here in Pennsylvania. If it ever got to that point, which I am not concerned about whatsoever, we know how to change things around and adjust for the appropriate bear seasons to make more bears.”

Pennsylvania’s bear population has grown immensely over the past half-century. Until 1983, when the harvest was 1,529, hunters had never killed more than a thousand bruins in a year. The harvest topped 2,000 for the first time in 1989, when it reached 2,213. The first 3,000-plus year was 2000, which saw 3,075 bears killed.

For several years, until last year, the state’s bruin population was estimated at 20,000.