State’s black bear kill rises to largest total in over two decades

40% above 5-year average

St. Paul — The 2026 bear season now ranks among the tops in state history, with the highest harvest totals in two decades.

Dan Stark, large carnivore specialist for the DNR, said 4,168 bears had been registered through Sunday, Oct. 18, the final day of the season. Those are preliminary results, and the tally may change because hunters can register bears up to 48 hours after harvest. Compared with last year’s total of 2,863, Minnesota saw a 30% increase, and this year’s total is up 40%

above the five-year average.

About 80% of the bears were taken during the first couple of weeks of the season. Stark said just under 1,000 bears were harvested during the last four weeks.

Only the 1995 and 2001 seasons resulted in higher harvest totals, Stark said, so this season ranks third in the state’s history.

Along with the third-highest harvest count, the state set a new record in no-quota areas. Stark said the previous record was 1,024 in 2024. In 2026, the state recorded 1,139 bears harvested in no-quota areas. In quota zones, 3,029 bears were harvested, compared with 2,086 last year.

“A bigger portion of that harvest this year is from no-quota bears. That’s a big factor in results and there are more bears distributed across the state and opportunities in the no-quota area,” Stark said.

License numbers also rose this year, with about 10,900 sold. About half were split between quota and non-quota zones. The season set a record for no-quota licenses, with 5,477 sold. Because of issues with the bear surplus sale, Stark said a few areas were oversold. The original quota was set at 5,330. The total number of tags for quota areas increased by 700 compared with 2025.

Stark said about 28,000 people applied for the bear lottery this year, continuing a trend of increasing interest in bear hunting.

“The no-quota area success tends to be lower with more licenses issued and fewer bears taken,” Stark said. “It’s about 21% compared to the quota area’s 57%. But the overall average success was 39%.”

Although the overall harvest increased significantly, Stark said much of the increase was due to bear permit areas 45, 46 and 51.

In BPA 45, which includes the Brainerd area and north-central Minnesota, the harvest increased 45%, from 187 bears last year to 350 this year. BPA 46, also in north-central Minnesota, saw an increase from 350 bears last year to 586 this year. BPA 51, in east-central Minnesota, recorded 718 bears this year, compared with 436 last year.

“That makes up a pretty significant increase just in those three areas alone,” Stark said.

Stark said one factor contributing to the high harvest this year was the increase in permits. Although he has not yet summarized the information gathered about food availability, he said poor natural forage could mean more bears were hitting baits.

Stark said the DNR has adjusted harvest quotas over the years based on population trends to improve bear hunting compared with conditions more than a decade ago and help sustain it into the future.

“The overall goal is to maintain a healthy population that’s resilient to some of these high harvests,” Stark said. “The overall trend has been a slight increase across bear range. We’ve been kind of building back up from some of the lows we saw over a decade ago.”

Stark said hunters who registered their harvest through the mobile app should double-check that the registration went through, especially if they were outside cell service or internet coverage. He also reminds hunters to send in their bear tooth if they were successful, with instructions on the DNR website.