FILE — Jennifer Hensley photographed a black bear crossing railroad tracks behind Stick City Brewing in Mars. She saw the bear from a window of the Highlander Waterproofing office where she works.

Expanded hunting seasons, record license sales and plenty of black bears came together to set a bear harvest record in Butler County.

A total of 44 bears were taken during the archery and new muzzleloader seasons and the statewide four-day season eclipsing the previous record of 28 set in 2014, well before the archery and muzzleloader seasons were added.

“Forty-four for Butler County. That's awesome,” said Chip Brunst, game warden and information and education supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game Commission for the Northwest region that includes the county.

As of Nov. 26, the third day of the four-day statewide season, hunters harvested 1,498 bears in 52 counties, according to the Game Commission.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appeared in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.