Wisconsin DNR asks citizens to report locations of black bear dens for ongoing study

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is asking for your help with an ongoing study.

According to the agency, they are studying black bear reproduction and are now searching for locations of black bear dens. The agency’s Office of Applied Science (OAS) is doing the study and is looking for sites of current dens or dens used in recent years for a black bear litter and diet survey.

Dens are expected to be surveyed for the next seven to eight years, according to the DNR, and is coming into its second year of data collection.

The DNR says the study will help researchers get new estimates of black bear reproductive rates within each management zone and also investigate a connection between bear reproduction and their consumption of human food sources.

During the survey, the DNR says more than a dozen female black bears have been collared with GPS so far, which helps them learn about bear behavior and also find the bears in the following years. The team doing the study hopes to get about 20 collars out in each management zone.

CLICK HERE to report a black bear den for the study.

To learn more about the survey and study, CLICK HERE.