FALLS CREEK - Year after year, many dedicated hunters go after one of the largest game animals in the state, the black bear.
Since opening day on Saturday, a new bear check station has been in operation at the fire department in Falls Creek.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 101 bears has been checked in.
Bears killed in Clarion, Jefferson, Clearfield, Elk and Armstrong counties are brought to Falls Creek.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission said as of Tuesday, 2,308 bears were harvested statewide.
That's about an eight percent decrease compared to the 2,487 bears taken during the first three days of the 2015 season.
Bears have been harvested in 53 counties during the statewide season so far.
According to the Game Commission, the larges of the state's heaviest bears was a male taken in Barrett Township, Monroe County, that weighed about 700 pounds.
The top bear hunting county in the state after three days of season was Clinton County, with 179.
The ration of males to females harvested is almost evenly split.
Typically, one juvenile is harvested for every five adults.
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