ST. PAUL, MN (KDAL) – The Minnesota bear hunting season gets underway on September 1st and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is asking hunters to avoid shooting bears that have been marked for research.
There are 48 bears around the state that are wearing radio collars and large, colorful ear tags.
The DNR research scientists use the data collected from the tagged bears for management, habitat use, physical condition and denning among other information.
Although the bear’s coat may hide the collar from view, there are also large colored ear tags that should be plainly visible to hunters.
Most of the radio collared bears are in or near the Chippewa National Forest, Camp Ripley Military Reserve, the Pillsbury State Forest and in the Brainerd-Baxter area. But the bears could range widely from those areas.
Any hunter who does shoot a radio collared bear should contact the DNR Research Office in Grand Rapids to coordinate a pickup or drop off of the collar and heart monitor.
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