On the hunt: Wisconsin bear season set to begin next week

MADISON — Wisconsin's bear hunting season is set to begin next week.

The season is slated to begin on Sept. 9 and run through Oct. 13. State Department of Natural Resources officials say they've issued a record 10,690 permits. The old record was 10,340 permits, set last year.

DNR Large Carnivore Specialist Dave McFarland says that the hunter success rate is typically about 44 percent, which should equate to about 4,700 bears killed.

Successful hunters for the first time will be required to submit a bear tooth to the DNR in lieu of registering their kills at registration stations. The agency plans to use the teeth to build models to help estimate the size of Wisconsin's bear population.