County hunters score big in bear seasons
Michael Dituro of West Sunbury fulfilled his six-year goal of harvesting a black bear on the last day of the statewide season last week. The 205-pound bear he shot was one of the 42 taken in Butler County and 3,148 taken statewide in the archery, muzzleloader, special firearms seasons and the recently concluded regular season.
Statewide bear seasons have ended, but extended seasons begin Monday in certain wildlife management units. The regular season included a Sunday, Nov. 22, one of three Sundays open to hunting this year.
Dituro said he was watching a field on property in Boyers where he regularly hunts when at 8 a.m. Nov. 24 he saw something move in a creek valley below the field.
“There was a small black bear, then a second one, then a third, which was much bigger, then another. I shot at the biggest one, a sow,” Dituro said.
The bear spun and ran back into the woods. He said he didn't find a blood trail, but kept looking and eventually found the bear.
“There lay my one, first and last black bear,” Dituro said. “It was awesome. I called my wife. She couldn't believe it.”
He said he went home, got his all-terrain vehicle and returned to the bear. Another hunter helped him load it on the ATV.
“Lot of luck, lot of time, lot of persistence, but you never know. That's why they call it hunting not killing. It isn't easy,” Dituro said.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission bear check station in Franklin Township in Venango County determined the bear was almost 3½ years old. The bear measured a little more than 5 feet in length.
The hide was taken to a taxidermist for mounting and he is having the skull mounted separately. Dituro said he looked into having the hide turned into a rug, but then reconsidered after learning it cost $325 per square foot. He said he donated the meat. “In 15 months, I'll have a memory of a lifetime handing on that wall,” Dituro said.
He said the harvest ended his quest for a bear and he won't kill another one unless one threatens him.
The bear is the highlight of a successful hunting season for the Dituros.
He said he harvested a 9-point buck white-tailed deer during archery season and his wife, Cindy, got a 7-point archery buck.
“We have a lot of deer meat to eat.” Dituro said.
At least 10 bears taken across the state weighed in excess of 600 pounds, according to the game commission. The largest had an estimated live weight of 719 pounds and was harvested in Fulton County. Potter County led the state harvest with 177 bears.
The total state harvest to date includes 1,965 bears taken during the archery, muzzleloader and special firearms seasons combined, 1,165 taken during the regular season, 17 taken during early archery seasons in wildlife management units around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and one taken during an extended season.
In the county, 27 bears were harvested across seasons. The game commission reported that 748 bears were killed Nov. 21, the opening day of the regular season, and 175 were taken Sunday, Nov. 22.
