JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri hunters harvested 15 black bears during the state's fourth season between Oct. 21-30.
The Missouri Department of Conservations reported nearly 6,000 hunters applied in May for permits with a max of 40 bears being harvested. Of the 400 hunters selected through random drawing, 319 purchased permits for the season.
“We had another successful black bear hunting season this year,” said MDC Furbearer Biologist Nate Bowersock. “Despite the acorn crop potentially being above average, hunters were able to harvest a record number of bears. This could be due to the dryer fall conditions, which likely caused bears to move more often in search of water.”
Bear hunting is limited to Missouri residents and restricted to three designated areas of southern Missouri called Bear Management Zones (BMZ). Each permit issued is for a specific BMZ and hunting is limited to public or private property within it.
In BMZ 1, 12 bears were harvested out of a possible 20, with 166 hunters holding permits. BMZ 2 saw three bears taken out of a maximum of 15, with 121 permit holders, while BMZ 3 had no bears harvested out of five allowed, with 32 hunters participating.
Of the 15 bears harvested, 13 were taken using firearms, one with archery equipment, and one with a crossbow. Ten of the bears were male, and five were female.
