Moose Antler - Blind

Look at the picture very closely! Notice the antler, it is just a shovel the size of your hand and it is a blinder to the moose's eye. Three hunters were moose hunting when they came upon this moose laying in the road. The moose stagged into the woods where it fell and got lodged in between two rocks. The hunters thinking it was a cow, worked for hours to free the moose. When freed the moose ran into a tree. It was at this point they realized it was a "bull". The hunter with the permit promptly decided this was the size moose he was looking for and shot it. Upon inspection it was found that one shovel antler was into the eye of the moose and it was blind. The other was covering the other eye. This is a true story, we have video and pictures of freeing the moose with block and tackle before realizing it was a bull. The in any case would not have survived.

Coyote Reduction Needed Fast

A Maine Coyote
Hunters looking for a challenge and true sport only need to look to winter coyote hunting in Maine. Without question the coyote is one crafty and smart animal. At this time of year the deer are having a hard time walking the crusty snow, but not the coyote - he is able to give chase until exhausting the deer. Think about the doe deer, in just a few years that one deer would produce over a 100 off spring, thousands over the years. So by saving one deer you can bounce the herd in your area. Spring is another time of killing but coyote, as the fawn drops, the coyote is hunting. Callers, camo, gun are all that is needed to improve our deer herd and save a few domestic pets at the same time. If would like some information on coyote hunting let me know, you can even night hunt coyotes. Fish and Game just released a 187 page report on the predation of our deer herd, which you can find at IFW web site.
The link is listed below

http://www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/surveys_reports/pdfs/deerpredationreport.pdf


AUGUSTA, Maine – Preliminary deer harvest numbers show a decrease of 14% from the 2008 harvest with an initial tally of 18,045 deer taken by hunters.

“To put this into perspective, we must consider that the 2008 and 2009 winters represent the most severe back-to-back winters since 1971-72,” according to IF&W Deer Biologist Lee Kantar.

Long winters with deep snows have a tremendous impact on the overwinter survival of deer. Both expected regional declines in deer abundance and adverse hunting conditions -- two weeks of poor hunting conditions during the firearms season -- played a role in the fall 2009 harvest decline. Decreases in the deer harvest from 2008 also were expected given the 16% decrease in any-deer permits for Maine’s hunters (reducing overall success rates). The reductions in any-deer permits for 2009were necessary to allow the deer herd to begin to recover.

Relative to adjacent provincial and state jurisdictions, the decline in Maine’s deer harvest was less in comparison to our Canadian neighbors in Quebec and New Brunswick whose deer harvests declined greater than 30% during the same time period, but was greater than the decline in New Hampshire’s deer harvest (decrease of approximately 5%).

For 2009, Department biologists projected a statewide harvest of approximately 19,289deer. The annual deer harvest projections by department biologists in the late spring result from an analysis of mortality and reproductive rates, harvest trends, and any deer permit allocations to meet Wildlife Management District (WMD) goals and objectives. Thus our initial number for statewide harvest was 6% less than projected.

Over the next few weeks, department biologists will complete a more detailed analysis of the 2009 harvest and will release the final deer harvest number and further details about how the harvest looked by season, WMD, sex and age.

Beaver Trapping

Ice conditions have improved somewhat for beaver trapping, but fur prices have not! Beaver trapping starts in November and runs into the following March. There is a high demand for trappers to remove problem beavers each year. In fact biologists encourage trapping as a way to open streams for trout management and to reduce spring flooding. Pricing this year however has caused a serious decline in the number of trappers. As of today prices range from $5-$20 per pelt, that is cured, fleshed, stretched and ready to sell, this not in the round. Early season found rain and very poor ice conditions, now with the season coming to a close conditions have improved.

Warm Day

Wow 43 degree's, yet they are saying snow. Hayward, Mike, Dillon, Manny and Amanda have reached the shores of Duck Lake. Me I've got the kids, who are in the process of building a large bonfire for this evening. Hopefully some skating on the pond will be in order. By the looks of the pallets it is not going to be a small fire.

Resting

A nice picture of a cub resting while the mother is being checked. Cub returned to mom without harm.