black bear in the wild
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin bear hunters saw a record harvest this fall with more than 4,000 bears taken.
The Wisconsin DNR preliminary reports say 4,285 were harvested during the five-week season, a rebound from the below-average harvest of 2,922 bears taken during last fall’s bear season.
“Several factors likely led to this season’s increase in harvest,” said Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist. “In 2023, we saw an incredible amount of acorns and other natural food production. This reduced the effectiveness of baits and translated to a historically low harvest. This year, anecdotes from bear hunters and harvest data suggest less natural food availability than last year. Additionally, last year’s low harvest, coupled with bears entering dens in excellent body condition last fall, likely contributed to an increase in the number of bears on the landscape this fall.”
The 2024 bear season ran from Sept. 4 to Oct. 8. A total of 11,501 bear hunting licenses were awarded to hunters through the license lottery system.
Although the number of licenses was reduced slightly this year, hunter success rates were generally higher than expected, leading to meeting or exceeding harvest targets in most management zones. Statewide, hunter success was about 37%, up from the five-year average of 31%. Hunter success rates in individual zones varied from a high of 71% in Zone A to less than 10% in Zones E and F.
“On average, we expect to see about half of the total bear harvest within the first five days of the season,” Johnson said. “This year, nearly 57% of the total harvest occurred in those first five days, with over 1,000 bears taken on opening day alone. Although the harvest rate returned closer to average during the rest of the season, this strong first week set the stage to meet or exceed harvest targets by season’s end.”
Click here to see zone-specific preliminary registration.
Wisconsin has a thriving bear population, estimated at around 23,000 bears, with a range covering more than half the state.
Hunters wishing to obtain a license or preference point for the 2025 season must apply in Go Wild before the Dec. 10 deadline. State law requires bear permit applicants to apply at least once during any period of three consecutive years to retain their accumulated preference points; otherwise, all accumulated preference points will be lost.
Nearly 135,000 people applied for a bear hunting license or preference point for the 2024 season.
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