Bear hunting season opened up in Saskatchewan on Tuesday. However, this season is allowing hunters the ability to purchase an additional license for the season. 

Hunters can purchase black bear licenses online with a HAL account if they have a blank, unregistered seal. Unregistered seals are free and can be obtained in a seal pack. Seal packs are available from any Saskatchewan license issuer, Ministry of Environment office, 10 provincial parks, ordered online, or by phone at 1-800-567-4224.  Additional unregistered seals can be used by any person and in future years.

"There are actually two bear hunting seasons in the province," said Katherine Conkin, a wildlife biologist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. "There's a period where you can't hunt during the summer then it opens up again. So we're in the fall season."

She explained that this year there are additional licenses being permitted to hunters in the province, which can be purchased on the Hunting and Fishing Licenses Saskatchewan website. For those in Weyburn, the nearest areas to hunt bears are areas 34-40. These areas are broken down by wildlife management zones.

You can register for your license here.

However, with a recent, fatal bear attack in northern Saskatchewan, there are some who are still a little shaken about dealing with bears.

"Bears tend to be fairly shy individuals and try to avoid people," Conkin explained. "I would be more concerned about a moose."

She says that hunters should have bear spray on them just in case of an unexpected confrontation with a bear, although the risk is minimal as the recent attack was the first one in around 40 years.