Game Commission sets trap for large bear in Lower Paxton, Susquehanna townships
By STEVEN FARLEY
November 18, 2009, 8:30PM
A black bear roaming in Lower Paxton and Susquehanna townships is the target of state Game Commission officers who are trying to trap it.
The bear has been seen 10 to 15 times in Lower Paxton Township and about five times in Susquehanna, police in those communities said Wednesday.
Its about 500-600 pounds. Hes a big one, Lower Paxton Cpl. Rich Needham said.
The bear has largely moved in an east-west line north of Interstate 81 and south of Linglestown Road, plundering trash cans and bird feeders in developments such as Goose Valley Estates behind the Colonial Country Club, Old Colonial Village and on Ringneck Drive, Needham said.
This bear is not going to leave, because people have all the food out, Needham said.
Hes going after bird feeders and trash cans placed outside without lids on them, he said.
The bear hasnt threatened anyone, but in one instance a woman found him in her garage where the trash was, Needham said.
In Susquehanna Township, police Cpl. Ryan Rietheimer said many residents are getting the word to move bird feeders inside at night and not to place trash cans outside until the morning of pickups.
[Bears] are just trying to fatten up for the wintertime, Rietheimer said.
Wildlife Conservation Officer Michael Doherty is leading the Game Commissions bear effort.
We are trying to trap the bear, but trapping a bear in a suburban area is often difficult, especially if it is finding easy sources of food in peoples back yards, he said in a news release.
The Weis Market on Linglestown Road donated doughnuts that the commission is using as bait in the trap.
If trapped, the bear will be moved to state game lands in the northern part of Dauphin County, Doherty said.
People can help by taking in all bird, squirrel and deer food. If the bears food source disappears, it will probably head back to the mountain, he said.
Two bears were killed when hit by cars last year in Susquehanna Township, and one bear was electrocuted when it climbed an electrical pole in Lower Paxton, Doherty said.
The best course for residents who see the bear is to go inside, Needham said.
Bears normally dont attack individuals; if you leave it be, it will move on, he said.

Shot fired. Close quarters, too.

It's gun season here, so it could have been some asshole shooting at a deer, or maybe someone taking out her husband, but I'm gonna be PISSED if one of these assholes dropped that bear in his yard. I say asshole because this is the friggin' suburbs, not the friggin' woods.

"My" bear is down to 350. He is roaming up and down a five mile corridor, and there was another article about him a day or two ago, along with some mentions that people are BAITING with salt licks and whatnot. (In comments to the story)

People can be such pricks. Leave the GD Bear alone. The bear is cool.

"dfosterf" wrote:

Bear visiting Lower Paxton Township appears to have headed back to the mountains
By BARBARA MILLER, The Patriot-News
December 15, 2009, 1:56PM

A large black bear that was frequenting bird feeders and snacking on garbage in Lower and Middle Paxton townships last month is believed to have headed back to the Blue Mountains, said Pennsylvania Game Commission warden Mike Doherty.

The last sighting of the bear was around Thanksgiving weekend in the Linglestown area, Doherty said. He was unsuccessful in luring the bear with donuts and pastries into a large metal cylindrical container, in which he would have transported it home to the mountains, where it enter hibernation.

Hes probably holed up somewhere already, I bet, Doherty said.

Daniel Conner of Hummelstown pleaded guilty Nov. 27 to charges of baiting the bear and not wearing the required amount of orange to hunt, for which he was fined $375 by the Game Commission, said spokesman Jerry Feaser.

Police decided not to file any charges against the man, after consulting with the district attorney and Game Commission, Seefeldt said.

He was never in trouble for anything, Seefeldt said, and police decided the Game Commission penalty was sufficient. Seefeldt said Conner also claims he wasnt baiting the bear, and that the property owner invited him to hunt there.