Michigan hunter shoots bear that had been tagged 180 miles away by Wisconsin DNR

Michigan hunter shoots bear that had been tagged 180 miles away by Wisconsin DNR

Gerry Maciok from Republic, Mich., shot this 190-pound black bear in October of 2023. The bear was tagged in Wisconsin in 2021. (Contributed photos)

Gerry Maciok from Republic, Mich., was surprised when he discovered the black bear he shot with bow and arrow in Marquette County on Oct. 11, 2023 was from Wisconsin. A small circular tag on the back of the bear’s ear contained wording that stated, “Call 1-608-935-1940 before consuming; WI DNR.”
When Maciok called the telephone number he found out that the male bear he shot had been tagged as a yearling (one year old) during January of 2021 while in a den with its mother in the northwest corner of Marathon County not far from Wausau.
“The bear traveled approximately 180 miles to where I harvested the bear in Marquette County,” Maciok wrote in an email.