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<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8212; Joe Kripp got a second chance.</p><p>During the statewide archery bear season earlier this fall, Kripp missed a large bear while hunting in Wright Township.</p><p>On Saturday&#8217;s start to the regular bear season, Kripp returned to the area and got another shot at the bear.</p><p>This time, he didn&#8217;t miss.</p><p>&#8220;I saw him three times before this and I knew he was a decent size bear,&#8221; said Kripp, who resides in Mountain Top. &#8220;I saw his tracks in the snow and knew he was back in the area.&#8221;</p><p>Kripp&#8217;s bear, a male, was the fourth bruin brought to the Pennsylvania Game Commission&#8217;s Northeast Region check station, which was held at the Back Mountain Regional EMA building in Lehman Township. The bear had an estimated live weight of 490 pounds and a number tattooed on the inside of its upper lip, which meant it had a bit of history as well. When the Game Commission captures and relocates a bear, personnel then tattoo a number inside the lip so the animal can be tracked if it shows up in the harvest.</p><p>Based on the number, wildlife biologist Kevin Wenner was immediately able to research the bear&#8217;s history. Turns out, it was trapped in April 2009 in Dennison Township in response to complaints from residents. At the time, the bear was 3 years old and had an estimated live weight of 450 pounds. It was released on State Game Lands 57 in the Red Rock Mountain area.</p><p>In June 2010, the bear was trapped again in Wright Township and released off Honey Hole Road in State Game Lands 187. The bear&#8217;s estimated live weight at that time was 420 pounds.</p><p>When Kripp got the bruin Saturday, it was 12 years old and back in Wright Township. Game Warden Gerald Kapral, whose district includes Wright, was happy to see the bear harvested by a hunter.</p><p>&#8220;If a previously trapped bear gets taken, I&#8217;d rather see one removed from a residential area where it can cause conflict with people, such as raiding trash cans and bird feeders,&#8221; Kapral said. &#8220;These are definitely the bears we need to remove from the population, and hunting is the best way to do that.&#8221;</p><p><strong>900-plus statewide</strong></p><p>Last year, 29 bears were brought to the Lehman Township check station &#8212; the lowest total since 2007. A rainy opening day hampered last year&#8217;s harvest, but weather conditions this year were nearly ideal.</p><p>The statewide bear harvest in 2017 was 3,438, including 694 taken on opening day. This season the snow served as a benefit, as 49 bears were brought to the Lehman Township check station and the unofficial statewide opening day harvest was 904.</p><p>Wenner said several large bears were brought in, including a 623-pound bruin taken in Newport Township, a 542-pounder from Salem Township and a 532-pound male, also harvested in Newport.</p><p>The 623-pounder was the third heaviest taken in the state Saturday. The heaviest weighed 704 pounds and was taken in Clearfield County.</p><p>&#8220;The snow on the ground is ideal. It helps to find tracks and helps to see the bears,&#8221; said Dallas resident Greg Moser, who harvested a 178-pound bruin in Wyoming County. &#8220;I saw a lot of hunters and heard a lot of shooting.&#8221;</p><p>As bears came in to the check station, Game Commission personnel weighed each one, took a blood sample for a mange study and pulled a tooth to age the animal if it had not been previously captured. Wenner said bears have plenty of food sources this year as many corn fields have yet to be harvested due to the wet weather. He added that the recent snowfall probably didn&#8217;t force many bears into their dens before the Saturday opener.</p><p>&#8220;Denning activity is triggered by food availability, not weather. When bears are expending more calories than they consume, they&#8217;ll start to den,&#8221; Wenner said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Game Commission employee Kurt Yuhas pulls a tooth from a bear for testing to determine its age at the Back Mountain EMA Regional building. 11/17/18. Sean McKeag | For Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL111818bearhunting2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Game Commission employee Kurt Yuhas pulls a tooth from a bear for testing to determine its age at the Back Mountain EMA Regional building. 11/17/18. Sean McKeag | For Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader  </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL111818bearhunting3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Joe Kripp, of Mountain Top, left, has his bear processed by wildlife biologist Kevin Wenner at the Back Mountain Regional EMA building. Kripp&#8217;s bear had an estimated live weight of 490 pounds. The biggest bear brought to the check station Saturday weighed 623 pounds and was taken in Newport Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL111818bearhunting3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Joe Kripp, of Mountain Top, left, has his bear processed by wildlife biologist Kevin Wenner at the Back Mountain Regional EMA building. Kripp&#8217;s bear had an estimated live weight of 490 pounds. The biggest bear brought to the check station Saturday weighed 623 pounds and was taken in Newport Township. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader  </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL111818bearhunting1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Game Commission employee Kurt Yuhas, 35, of Harveys Lake, Ian Evans, of Lehman Township, and Bob Long, of Sweet Valley, both 18, finish weighing a bear at the Back Mountain Regional EMA building in Lehman Township. Hunters brought 49 bears to the check station during Saturday&#8217;s opening day. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_TTL111818bearhunting1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Game Commission employee Kurt Yuhas, 35, of Harveys Lake, Ian Evans, of Lehman Township, and Bob Long, of Sweet Valley, both 18, finish weighing a bear at the Back Mountain Regional EMA building in Lehman Township. Hunters brought 49 bears to the check station during Saturday&#8217;s opening day. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader  </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Snow on the ground improved visibility; several large bears taken in Luzerne County</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Bear hunters have banner day