Wisconsin Bear Hunters Notch a ‘Very Average’ Year with 3,724 Kills

   Wisconsin’s bear hunters bagged 3,724 bruins during the 35-day season, a 16% decline from 4,432 in 2024, according to preliminary data from by the Department of Natural Resources.

   Though the overall kill also fell 8.6% short of the DNR’s 4,075-bear harvest target for this year’s season, it was within 2.6% of the 5-year average of 3,824 registered during the 2021 through 2025 seasons.

   The DNR issued 13,110 bear tags this year, and hunters recorded a 28% overall success rate. Hunters in Zone A, which covers far northcentral and northwestern Wisconsin, enjoyed the most success, with 69% of hunters registering a bear.

   Hunters killed an average of 4,148 bears annually from 2010 through this fall, including a state-record 5,133 in 2010. They logged a 38.5% success rate in 2024, up from a 24% success rate in 2023 when they killed 3,005 bears.

   “All in all, it was a very average year,” said Randy Johnson, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist. “Last year’s harvest was above the 5-year average (by 12.5%), so this year put us more in line what we’ve been seeing in recent years.”

   Johnson said hunters attributed this year’s lower kill to a strong acorn crop, which made bears less likely to visit bait sites. Johnson said acorns have been especially abundant in northwestern counties.

   Wisconsin’s black bear population exceeded 24,000 this fall. Hunters killed an average of 4,148 bears annually from 2010 through this autumn, including a state-record 5,133 in 2010.     — Photo Contributed by Cuddeback Trail Cameras

Another possible factor was cold, wet weather early in the season, and warmer weather late in the season. How weather affected bears and hunting success varies by who’s asked, with some hunters saying it helped generate the best bear hunting they’ve known.

   “Some bait hunters said they saw more activity at the tail-end of the season during that warm weather,” Johnson said. “It’s a little unusual to see more activity at bait sites that late, but it was that kind of year.”

   This year’s bear season ran Sept. 3 through Oct. 7. The first week was reserved for hunters using hounds in the state’s three far-north zones, A, B and D. The final week was restricted to hunters using bait and other means.

   Marinette County once again led the state with 271 kills, of which 131 (48%) were males; followed by Rusk County with 251 kills, of which 126 (50%) were males; Sawyer County, 228 kills, of which 124 (54%) were males; Price County, 208 bears, of which 121 were males; and Oconto County, 180 bears, 94 of which were males.

  Hunters shot at least one bear in 41 (57%) of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, with nine counties registering less than 10 bears: Juneau, eight; Monroe and Pierce, seven; Waupaca, six; Pepin, five; Outagamie, four; Marquette, three; and La Crosse and Fond du Lac, one each.

   As usual, Wisconsin’s bear hunters enjoyed their most success during the season’s first 12 days. Houndsmen registered 1,155 bears during their weeklong start, or 31% of the total kill. Bait-sitters then joined in, helping to generate a kill of 1,301 bears from days 8 through 12, or 35% of the total. The rest of the harvest, 1,268 bears (34%), occurred during the season’s remaining 23 days, including the final week when hounds couldn’t be used.

   Hound-hunters and bait-sitters take turns each year getting first crack at bears in Wisconsin’s northern zones, A, B and D. Bait-sitters will get to hunt the first week of the 2026 bear season before hound-hunting begins.

   Bear hunting has grown increasingly popular in Wisconsin since the mid-1980s. A record 146,021 hunters applied in December 2024 for one of the 13,110 bear tags the DNR issued for this fall’s season. That’s 16 times more applicants than Wisconsin averaged in the late 1980s, and 50% more than the 97,467 applicants for 2010’s bear tags.

  Bear hunting applications have exceeded 100,000 annually since 2010, and increased each of the past five years after pausing around 120,000 in 2020. Unsuccessful bear-tag applicants receive one preference point for each year they don’t draw a tag. Hunters can also buy one preference point annually instead of applying for a tag.

   Because of that strong interest, no hunter with less than 10 preference points drew a tag for Zone A or Zone B this year, while no one with less than two preference points drew tags in zones C or D. In contrast, 52% of applicants for Zone E and 14% of applicants for Zone F drew a bear tag with one preference point.

   Hunters have until Dec. 10 to buy a preference point or apply for a tag for the 2026 bear season. Visit gowild.wi.gov for more information.

   Here are some other facts from Wisconsin’s 2025 bear season:

   -- The DNR estimated the state’s black bear population at 24,403 this fall.

   -- Of the 3,724 bears registered this fall, 1,969 (53%) were males and 1,755 (47%) were females.

   -- Of Wisconsin’s six bear zones, only Zone A reached its harvest target, which was 1,075 bears. Zone A hunters registered 1,161 bears, 86 over the goal.

   -- Zone B hunters killed 841 bears, 59 below the target of 900.

   -- Zone C hunters killed 661 bears, 89 below the target, 750.

   -- Zone D hunters killed 906 bears, 194 below the target, 1,100.

   -- Zone E hunters killed 128 bears, 72 below the target, 200.

   -- Zone F hunters killed 27 bears, 23 below the target, 50.

   -- 29 hunters who received bear tags this year waited 20 to 27 years to cash in their preference points. In fact, a hunter with 27 preference points drew a Zone C tag, and one with 25 points drew a Zone B tag .

   -- Hunters must apply for a bear tag or buy a preference point at least once every three years or they’ll lose whatever points they accumulated.

   -- Hunters who draw a bear tag can transfer it to a minor, someone with a disability, an active-duty service member, or a Purple Heart recipient. The DNR transferred 558 bear tags for the 2025 season, or 4.25% of the 13,110 tags issued. The agency also transferred 531 bear tags for the 2024 season, or 4.6% of the 11,501 tags issued.

   -- Of the 13,110 bear tags issued this year, 698 (5.6%) went to nonresidents.

   -- From 2010 through 2025, hunters have bagged 66,373 bears in Wisconsin, a 37.3% success rate. The DNR issued 178,024 bear tags during those 16 hunting seasons, an average of 11,126.5 tags annually.