Black Bear Hunter Insights from License and Harvest Data

Oklahoma has a small, but growing black bear population, which supports limited hunting opportunities. As the bear population continues to increase and expand, a need to reevaluate management strategies may arise. The bear... [ view full abstract ]

Oklahoma has a small, but growing black bear population, which supports limited hunting opportunities. As the bear population continues to increase and expand, a need to reevaluate management strategies may arise. The bear population has been carefully monitored to ensure hunting opportunities are sustainable, yet little is known about bear hunters and their behavior. Data mining hunter license and harvest data is a cost-effective method for understanding hunters and their behavior. Oklahoma black bear license-holder data from 2009-2015 were linked with black bear harvest data for the purpose of a) describing bear hunter demographic segments, and b) examining license-purchasing behaviors. Results of this analysis reveal significant growth in the annual Oklahoma bear hunter population over time, with an observable jump seen after regulations were implemented that expanded hunting opportunities. Across all seven years of data, 23% of license sales were from repeat buyers. Individual purchasing patterns were further evaluated in relation to demographic segments and harvest success. The resulting analysis demonstrates the utility of data mining techniques using hunter license and harvest data and provides constituent insights that may be used to evaluate and inform black bear management strategies in Oklahoma.