MISSOURI, USA — Hunters killed 12 black bears during Missouri's first black bear hunting season, the Missouri Conservation Department said Thursday.
The hunt was allowed after the state's black bear population grew to about 800, with most of the animals found in southern Missouri.
Note: The video at the top of this story is from the day bear hunting season began.
More than 6,330 people applied for 400 permits for the hunt, which limited the total number of bears that could be taken to 40.
The hunt, which began Oct. 18 and ended Wednesday, was divided into three zones.
Hunters took nine bears in southwest Missouri and three in the western zone. No bears were killed in a zone that stretched from southeast Missouri to St. Louis, the department said.
Kelsie Wikoff, of Hume, harvested a 268-pound male bear in Zone 1. She said she spent 48 hours in a tree stand over three days to get the bear.
"Bear hunting is an extremely challenging endeavor, especially under the framework that we established," said bear biologist Laura Conlee. "This was a new experience for many hunters, and they put in the work to be successful and take advantage of this new hunting opportunity."
According to Conlee, the 40 bear maximum limit was only about 5% of the state's total bear population.
Black bears were abundant in Missouri forests before Europeans settled in the state but were nearly eliminated by unregulated killing in the late 19th century and habitat loss in the Ozarks.
Their numbers have rebounded in the last 50 years and the population is expected to double in the next 10 years, the conservation department said.