Illegal killing of black bear in Fayette County under investigation
STEWART TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Pennsylvania Game Commission is asking for the public's help after a black bear was illegally shot and killed in Fayette County.
The Game Commission says the adult female black bear was found on state game land property off of Saylor Road in Stewart Township on Saturday, Dec. 2. The early investigation suggests it was killed with a gunshot wound to the shoulder between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, which is outside the regular firearms bear season.
"I performed the necropsy and we found it to be some sort of large caliber firearm," said state game warden Brooke Hargenrader.
The state game warden says they have identified two hunters seen on camera near the animal. While they don't have reason to believe they're involved, they still want to talk to them. Hargenrader believes they may have information related to the incident.
"What we noticed from the photos is that both appeared to have some sort of cell phone out at the time so what we're thinking is that they probably walked through, noticed the bear and maybe snapped a few photos and told some people, but other than that, we're not sure of their involvement at this time," she said.
While this could have been an accident, Hargenrader says it's still the hunters' responsibility to call and inform the Game Commission of the mistake. She adds it's pertinent hunters abide by the hunting seasons because everything is biologically tracked from the Game Commission's biologists.
"So population comes into play here when we're not abiding by those season timeframes, so that's why it is very important," Hargenrader said.
Anyone with information about the two people is asked to call the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Southwest Region at 1-833-742-4868 or the Operation Game Thief Hotline at 1-888-PGC-8001. You can also submit a tip online by clicking here.
