Wisconsin bear hunters harvested 4,275 bears during the fall hunting season.
The Wisconsin DNR says that was slightly over the harvest target of 4,160 bears.
"The big story across the northern part of the state was the ongoing drought conditions, particularly in northwest Wisconsin, and how the dry conditions might affect bear activity," said Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist.
"A different story emerged in southern parts of Wisconsin, with reports suggesting abundant acorns in many areas, along with agricultural crops, which often draw the attention of bears away from hunter baits in these areas. These patterns played out with bear harvest being above expectations in the northwest part of the state while at or near expectations across the rest of the state."
Statewide, about 28% of bear hunters were successful in taking a bear, on par with the five-year average hunter success rate of around 30%.
The DNR says Wisconsin has a thriving bear population, estimated at around 24,000 bears.
Their range covers more than half the state.
"The DNR’s bear management plan outlines an adaptive management strategy in which we evaluate a number of important parameters each year,” said Johnson. “We can then adjust license and harvest levels as needed in different regions of the state to affect the bear population and data trends. This strategy is what allows us to strive towards sustainable bear population levels, compatible with the habitat and public preferences."
The DNR says while bears have tremendous cultural and ecological value, they can also conflict with human interests, such as damaging agricultural crops or raiding residential trash and bird feeders.
