ST. PAUL – Minnesota’s bear hunting season opens Monday, Sept. 1, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources once again is asking hunters to avoid shooting marked research bears. These bears have large, colorful ear tags and wear radio collars.

In a news release, the DNR said researchers with the department are monitoring 50 radio-collared black bears across the state, especially in bear hunting zones 27, 45 and parts of the no-quota zone. 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 also range widely from these sites. All but three of these bears are female.

“We ask hunters to avoid shooting these research bears,” said Andrew Tri, Minnesota DNR bear research scientist. “These co

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