Every bear that's shot in Pa is taken to a check station where a tooth is pulled and sent away to be aged.It's not uncommon at at for a cub to have a live weight from 80-100lbs.Sows in pa breed every other year and have 2-5 cubs.Our bears have the highest reproductive and growth rates in the US.Cubs usually stay with their mothers for the first two years and get booted when she breeds in the spring.A cub that loses it's mother during hunting season will usually have the instincts to den on it's own and survive.

An 80-100lb bear could be a tough call under hunting situations.One under 50lbs is not hard to judge.It is distasteful to me when I see such a small bear at a check station but we continue to have a trend in record harvests so they need to be managed accordingly.