When is there too much success in an animal population?

If you ask hunters, there can never be too much of a good thing. If you ask farmers, the reply will be the opposite.

Two game animals that can polarize Pennsylvania residents are the black bear and the whitetail deer. Both species are prized animals for the hunter. Until hunting season comes along, both of theses species are in a ravenous mood, and farmlands and suburbs offer ready food sources.

The black bear provides the most excitable reaction by humans when they make an appearance. This is the time of year that bears are most likely to be spotted, as they spread out looking for females and new home territories.

Mark Ternet, a wildlife biologist with the Game Commission, estimates that the Pennsylvanian bear population is in the 14,000 to 15,000 range. The population estimate is based on mathematical formulas and the bear harvest numbers.

This is the best time in the state's history to hunt bears. The past three years has resulted in about a 20-percent bear harvest rate for the total population.

Last year, the numbers were down, but I expect to see a significan jump in this year's harvest percentages, if the number of live sightings and problems with bears in our vicinity is any gauge.

The bear seasons include an archery-only season, a regular rifle season and an extended season in a 10,000 swuare mile area in the the northeast portion of the state.

In 2008, the extended bear season will be offered in WMU's 4C, 4D, and 4E for a one-week period that coincides with deer season.

Not everyone is happy about the bear population expanding into the suburbs. Homeowners complain of nuisance bears demolishing their bird feeders and trash cans.

I have experienced this destruction, and it can be quite costly. One of my bird feeders was touted as the squirrel's dilemma, which it was. But it turned out to tbe the bear's delight, as he deftly pulled it off the iron pole and carried it off like a candy bar.

On another occasion, two bears pusher our tote garbage cans around like they were on a shopping spree as they caused havoc throughout the neighborhood.

The Game Commission can remove problem bears as a last resort if they pose a serious harm to life, property, and livestock.

But homeowners can take a few steps to restrict man-bear conflict before it gets to that point. It is recommended that if you do have bear problems, you should cease to provide any artificial foo sources, such as bird feeders, feeding pets outdoors, dumping scraps or food grade compost, and secure trash cans in a building.

Bears have a great nose and memory for food sources and will return for a free meal whenever possible. In some cases, the will be attracted to an agricultural area and cause great damage to crops, bee hives, and possibly livestock.

Bears are omnivores and opportunist when it comes to finding their next meals. The Game Commission has been successful in live trapping nuisance bears and relocating them to more isolated areas away from humans.

In Butler County , a bear recently was trapped and relocated from the Moniteau High School area. That bear had an estimated weight of 332 pounds and was a fine example of our healthy bear population.