12 Bears Taken In Missouri

(Jefferson City) Missouri wildlife officials say hunters took 12 black bears during the state’s first-ever bear hunting season.

More than 63-hundred hunters applied for 400 permits for the season.

The Department of Conservation capped the total bag limit at 40 bears.

The agency says there are around 800 black bears in Missouri.

Most of them are south of the Missouri River and south of Interstate 44.

Bear numbers in Missouri are expected to double in less than 10 years.