Minnesota DNR Asks Bear Hunters Not to Shoot Radio-Collared Bears

With Bear hunting season underway, the Department of Natural Resources asks hunters participating in Minnesota’s bear season to avoid shooting radio-collared research bears. The animals are marked with colorful ear tags.

According to the DNR, many of the collars have global positioning units that collect and store data that are downloaded by DNR researchers when they visit the bears in their dens.  The information obtained from these bears is important.

DNR researchers are monitoring about 20 radio-collared black bears, most of them in northwestern Minnesota, especially near Thief Lake Wildlife Management Area and the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. Additional radio-collared bears reside in and around Camp Ripley, north of Grand Rapids, and near the Cloquet Forestry Station.

DNR officials recognize that a hunter may not be able to see a radio collar or ear tags in some situations. For this reason, taking a bear with a radio collar is legal.