BATON ROUGE - Cooler weather only means one thing in the Sportsman's Paradise: hunting.

With that comes new changes to hunting regulations.

The biggest change this year is the addition of the Louisiana black bear season for the first time since the 1980s. This starts in December.

"Thanks to the management of Wildlife and Fisheries, we were able to get it off the endangered list. We're excited this is truly a conservation success story for us," Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Madison Sheahan said.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says you must have a valid hunting license to hunt, take a hunter's safety course if needed and wear hunter's orange.

"No matter what you're doing whether it's bird hunting, bear hunting, or deer hunting we want to make sure you're staying safe in the field and sometimes that means wearing your hunter's orange. And anytime you're out in the field, and you get approached by a game warden we want to make sure you have your hunting license," Sheahan said.

The season runs until the beginning of 2025 for most animals.

"It's been a good year for us so far we have a lot going on in the department so we're excited," Sheahan said.

For specific information on when you can hunt each animal and how click here.