Bear registration

Please familiarize yourself with any changes before the start of the season. Carcass tag requirements are explained below. In addition, resources on this page detail these changes and the steps needed to successfully register your bear and submit a tooth to the department. Successful hunters should have received a letter containing the necessary materials before the start of the season.

Note: All bears must be registered by 5 p.m. the day after the animal was recovered and tagged. Bear registration is mandatory in Wisconsin and is the responsibility of the individual hunter. It is not optional.

What is electronic registration?

Electronic registration allows hunters to fulfill the requirements of registering their bear using the phone or internet, making this task fast, easy and convenient for hunters while providing the department with timely access to valuable harvest data. Wisconsin has already successfully implemented electronic registration for turkey and goose hunters and has now moved to accomplish the same for the big game hunting seasons.

How to register a bear electronically

After immediately validating your harvest, hunters will have several options for registering their bear.

• Online (most straightforward and fastest): On a computer or mobile device, go to gamereg.wi.gov and enter your harvest information.
• Phone: Dial 1-844-426-3734 (1-844-GAME-REG) and follow the prompts to provide harvest information.
• In-person: Visit a designated in-person station that offers a phone or computer to hunters to register your bear—search businesses offering in-person registration options.

Information required to register a bear

The following information will be required to register your bear.

• 10-digit bear carcass tag number (printed on the carcass tag).
• Date of kill.
• Did you harvest this animal with agricultural damage or a nuisance permit (yes or no)?
• County of kill.
• Bear zone and game management unit of harvest.
• Type of animal harvested (Male or female).
• Harvest method (bait/scent only, dogs and bait and scent, dogs only or another method).
• Weapon (gun, vertical bow or crossbow).

Bear registration confirmation number and carcass tag regulations

• Hunters will receive a 10-character confirmation number after registration. This will indicate to a conservation warden, wildlife biologist or meat processor that the animal has been appropriately registered. Carcass tags must only be attached to the animal IF you leave it. The carcass tag can remain in your possession if you do not leave the animal. If you leave it, tag it!
  • To prevent the destruction of the paper carcass tag, placing it in a plastic bag is advisable.
• The hunter must retain the carcass tag until the meat is consumed.
• Although all registration is electronic, the department still requires the submission of a bear tooth.

Bear teeth collection instructions

The collection of bear teeth is a critical part of our bear management program. Each successful hunter is required to extract two upper premolar teeth from the bear they harvest and submit them to the department. The requirement to submit teeth is in addition to mandatory harvest registration. The age of your bear will be posted to your Go Wild account after it has been analyzed by the laboratory. This usually takes 12-16 months following the end of the bear season. Ensuring an active email address exists on your Go Wild profile will expedite receiving notification of your age results. 

To collect the teeth: 

1. Verify that all information is correct on the pre-printed labels containing the DNR customer ID number, the hunter's name, and the zone awarded. If any part is incorrect, please write in the correct information.
2. Please write in the registration confirmation number on the space provided. This number is generated when you complete mandatory harvest registration.
3. Place one pre-printed label on each of the brown envelopes. 
4. Remove teeth by cutting the gum tissue around the 1^st premolar behind each of the large upper canine teeth (see pictures), then use a small screwdriver to loosen and then pliers to gently pry the teeth out with the root intact. Take care to not damage the roots. If the roots are damaged, the lab may not be able to determine the age of your bear. 
5. If you break a root, remove the second upper premolar, located just behind the first premolar you just removed. If unable to remove the second premolar, send in the broken tooth and root. 
6. Remove any tissue or blood from on the teeth.  
7. Place one clean and dry tooth into each labeled brown envelope and tape or staple the envelopes closed.  
8. Put both brown envelopes with the pre-printed labels attached in the white pre-paid return envelope. Do not store the teeth in any type of plastic as it will prevent drying. 
9. Make sure all the information is filled out on each bear tooth envelope, place them in the pre-paid return envelope and return via the United States Postal Service by October 15. Thank you for helping scientifically manage Wisconsin's black bear population! 

View the Bear Tooth Removal Guide with pictures.

 

Instructions for removing a bear tooth.

Submitting teeth directly to the department

Hunters who successfully drew a Class A bear harvest permit should have received the materials required to submit teeth to the department before the bear season. If you did not receive these materials, you may submit your teeth directly to the department by folding them into a piece of paper, placing the folded paper with teeth in a paper envelope, and mailing them directly to the department. Please, include the 10-digit registration confirmation number, DNR customer ID number, hunter's first and last name and bear management zone of harvest with the teeth. Do not store or mail the teeth in plastic, as this prohibits them from drying.

Attn: Bear Tooth
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
107 Sutliff Avenue
Rhinelander WI, 54501

View the electronic registration for bear and deer for more information.