Bear sightings on the rise in Western Pennsylvania

Young black bears are on the move in Western Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reports that bear sightings are up this year, thanks in part to cooler-than-usual temperatures in May that brought more bears out during the daytime and also because more people have been staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A young bear brought traffic along busy Route 28 to a halt Monday when it crossed the highway near the Pittsburgh Mills exit.

“I saw the bear climb over the railing on the northbound side of the road,” said Tyler S. Borgoyne of Plum. “I had no idea what it was at first. Everyone on the road came to a halt, even the southbound side.”

The Route 28 bear could have been the same one reportedly seen last week in O’Hara and this week in the Cheswick area, said commission Game Warden Doug Bergman. Recent sightings also have been reported in Tarentum, Ohio Township, Richland, Cranberry and elsewhere.

Most of the sightings involved small, young bears known as yearlings. They are looking for food and new territory, according to Bergman and fellow local Game Warden Zeb Campbell.

The young bears, about 1½ years old, have been pushed out by their mothers who are breeding again. The displaced young bears search for a new place to live, following rivers and wooded corridors and sometimes stumbling into people’s back yards or onto streets and highways. They often are spotted dining on bird food, garbage and bee hives.

“They are looking for an easy place to eat,” Campbell said.

The young bears typically wander through urban and suburban areas from late April through the late July. If there is no food, the bears will just pass through, the game wardens said.

The wardens said there have been more sightings this year because more people have been at home during the pandemic to see them.

“The cool weather in May brought more of them out in the daytime too,” Campbell said. The bear’s fur is like a big black coat and when it’s hot, the animals are more active at night.”

The Game Commission offered the following tips for encountering black bears:

• If you are close to a bear, do not run because you will trigger the animal’s instinct to chase. Make noise, slowly back away and retreat to the indoors.

• Put away trash, bird feeders and anything the bear could eat.

• If bears are in the area, do not let your pet roam freely. Bears are not looking to attack pets but if chased by one, bears will defend themselves.

• It’s unlawful to intentionally feed bears, and potentially dangerous to humans and bears alike.

Report unusual bear sightings to the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s southwest region office, 724-238-9523.

Learn more about black bear on PGC’s website.