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   The Minnesota bear hunting season opens Sunday, Sept. 1, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is once again asking hunters to avoid shooting marked research bears. These bears are marked with distinctively large, colorful ear tags and wear radio collars.

   Researchers with the Minnesota DNR are monitoring 50 radio-collared black bears across the state, especially in bear hunting zones 27, 45 and parts of the no-quota area. Most of the radio-collared bears live in or near the Chippewa National Forest, Camp Ripley, the Brainerd/Baxter area, and Duluth. However, the bears can also range widely from these sites. All but three of these bears are female.

   More information for hunters is available in a previous DNR news release (mndnr.gov/news/2025/08/19/hunters-urged-not-shoot-ear-tagged-radio-collared-research-bears). Photos of collared research bears and some research findings gained from them are available on the Minnesota DNR bear hunting webpage (mndnr.gov/hunting/bear).

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