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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 — a rebound, the DNR said, from the below-average harvest of 2,922 bears taken during last fall’s bear season.

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“In 2023, we saw an incredible amount of acorns and other natural food products. This reduced the effectiveness of baits and resulted in a historically low harvest,” Randy Johnson, DNR large carnivore specialist, said in a statement. “Anecdotes from bear hunters and harvest data suggest less natural food availability than last year.

“Additionally, last year’s low harvest, along with bears entering dens in excellent body condition last fall, 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 awarded to hunters through the license lottery system.

Although license numbers were down slightly this year, the DNR said hunter success rates were generally higher than expected, leading to harvest targets being met or exceeded in most management areas.

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Statewide, hunter success was about 37 percent, up from the five-year average of 31 percent, according to the DNR. Hunter success rates in individual areas ranged from a high of 71% in Area A to less than 10% in Areas E and F.

Harvest targets are established to manage Wisconsin’s bear population and are readjusted each year to increase, decrease or stabilize population trends. This means that even when harvest targets are exceeded in a given year, there is a long-term biological risk to carrier populations. Population and harvest data are assessed annually and may be adjusted to meet long-term population management goals.

The benefits of bear hunting

According to the DNR, Wisconsin has a thriving bear population — estimated at about 23,000 bears, with a range covering more than half the state. While bears have enormous cultural and ecological value, they can conflict with human interests, such as damaging agricultural crops or attacking 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 key funding for bear management and research activities.

Reminders for next year

Hunters seeking a license or preference point for the 2025 season must apply Wild before the Dec. 10 deadline. State law requires bear permit applicants to apply at least once in any three consecutive year period 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. To help hunters make hunting plans, a complete breakdown from the results of the 2024 bear license draw and license waiting times is available online.

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