Over the years, as an outdoor enthusiast here in Pennsylvania, I, like many others, have seen wildlife that I never thought I would encounter in our state. The reason for these sightings is mostly attributed to the deliberate reintroduction of several species. Grant it, not all of the wildlife that has been introduced was for the benefit of hunting, but those reintroductions have certainly benefited our state, and I and many others take great pleasure in spotting that wildlife. Interestingly, some of the wildlife we see today was once a common sight in our state many years ago, but for several reasons, it disappeared from our landscape.
Before Pennsylvania became a settled state, elk were a common sight in our forests, but they have pretty much disappeared over the years. I remember, as a kid in western Pennsylvania, the sighting of an elk was pretty uncommon. The few elk that we did have resulted from elk being brought in from other states; 177 elk were trapped and transferred from 1913 through 1926. Today, we have an estimated herd of over 1,440 elk; each year, we now have a limited number of elk taken by hunters. Literally, thousands of people swarm all over the elk range in northern Pennsylvania just to see and photograph the elk, and you can bet that attraction has raised its share of money for the state.
How many eagles did you see when you were just a youngster? When I was in junior high school, somebody told me they saw one, but a lot of others, and I didn’t believe he actually saw an eagle. Eagles, like elk, were once a common sight in our state, but they, too, pretty much disappeared over the years. Here again, there was an effort to reintroduce the magnificent bird back into our skies, and today, sightings are quite common. The last time I heard, there were over 300 nesting sites in our state; I know of at least two nesting sites within ten minutes of my home. Two weeks ago, I observed two mature eagles soaring overhead as I drove home from Muncy.
It wasn’t too many years ago that the fisher was reintroduced into our state. The fisher is a 12-pound, dark brown furbearer with an elongated body and a long tail. Again, fishers were once common in Pennsylvania, but, like other animal species, they were eventually eradicated from our state. Needless to say, there was some controversy when they were reintroduced because of concern that fishers might be detrimental to the turkey population, but that does not appear to be the case. Since their reintroduction, I have been fortunate to spot several fishers in various locations, with a couple of sightings near my home. A few weeks ago, as my wife and I were about to turn off Interstate 80 at Bloomsburg, I spotted one running across the front lawn of a farmhouse headed towards the nearby creek.
Recently, there has been talk about the reintroduction of the marten, a small furbearer weighing about two pounds and about the size of a fox squirrel. Here again, there have been some who oppose the reintroduction because of concerns over the martens’ food choices. Studies have shown that martens rarely eat snowshoe hares, ruffed grouse, or wild turkeys but primarily feed on voles, shrews, mice, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and vegetables and fruits. Again, once common in our state, but the reintroduction is on hold for the time being.
Sure, I’m a dedicated hunter, but I also enjoy seeing all kinds of wildlife, especially some of those species that disappeared but are now back on the outdoor scene.
