DNR Says Bear Harvest Down in 2023

Thursday, November 16th, 2023 -- 10:00 AM

(Raymond Neupert, WRN) The Department of Natural Resources says this year's bear harvest was down because of a quirk of nature.

Large carnivore specialist Randy Johnson says hunters harvested about 25 percent fewer bears this year, likely because oak trees across many hunting regions put out a bumper crop of acorns.

Johnson says that likely kept bears away from bait stations and out of the sight of hunters. Over 12 thousand licenses were issued to hunters, and about 23 percent of those tags were filled.

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