Wisconsin bear hunt: Recovery seen in 2024 season results

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Black bear (Credit: Wisconsin DNR)

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced preliminary results for the 2024 bear season on Tuesday.

This fall, bear hunters harvested 4,285 bears during the five-week season; That was a rebound from last fall’s bear season’s below-average bear harvest of 2,922, according to the DNR.

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“We saw incredible production of acorns and other natural foods in 2023. This reduced the effectiveness of forages and led to a historically low harvest,” Randy Johnson, DNR’s large carnivore specialist, said in a statement. he said. “This year, anecdotes from bear hunters and harvest data indicate less natural food availability than last year.

“Additionally, last year’s poor harvest and bears moving into dens last fall with their bodies in excellent condition likely contributed to the increased number of bears on the landscape this fall.”

Wisconsin DNR Department of Natural Resources

The 2024 bear season ran from September 4 to October 8. A total of 11,501 bear hunting licenses were given to hunters through the license lottery system.

Although there was some reduction in license numbers this year, the DNR said hunter success rates were generally higher than expected, resulting in harvest goals being met or exceeded in most management areas.

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Statewide hunter success was around 37%, down from the five-year average of 31%, according to the DNR. Hunter success rates in individual regions ranged from as high as 71% in Region A to less than 10% in Regions E and F.

Harvest targets are established to manage the bear population in Wisconsin and are adjusted each year to increase, decrease or stabilize population trends. This means that there is little long-term biological risk to populations even if harvest targets are exceeded in a given year. Population and harvest data are evaluated annually and can be adjusted to meet long-term population management goals.

Benefits of bear hunting

According to the DNR, there is a thriving bear population in Wisconsin; It is estimated that there are approximately 23,000 bears, covering more than half of the state. Although bears have tremendous cultural and ecological value, they can also conflict with human interests, such as damaging agricultural crops or raiding residential garbage and bird feeders.

Hunters provide critical data from each bear harvested that informs population monitoring efforts to ensure a healthy and sustainable bear population. Bear hunter license fees also provide significant funding for bear management and research activities.

Reminders for Next Year

Hunters who want a license or preference points for the 2025 season must apply. go crazy before the December 10 deadline. State law requires bear permit applicants to apply at least once during any period of three consecutive years to maintain accumulated preference points; Otherwise, all accumulated preference points will be lost.

Approximately 135,000 people applied for a bear hunting license or preference spot for the 2024 season. To help hunters make hunting plans full fault License drawing results and percentage of license waiting times for 2024 available online.

Visit DNRs Bear Hunt web page To learn more about black bear hunting, ecology and management in Wisconsin.