If you want to take your chances at drawing an Arizona Mule Deer Tag, don’t wait too much longer. The deadline is June 8, 2010. You may purchase a license first or apply for one as part of the drawing. You cannot apply online for the draw.
Click HERE for the application.
Or select the States Tab for more information.
Good Luck
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Cougar attacks dogs in Gimlet. Fish and Game officers relocate big cat after confrontation
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
A two-year-old male cougar sits in the snow at its relocation site near the Little Wood River north of Carey on New Year’s Eve. Idaho Department of Fish and Game officers transferred the big cat to the remote area after it tangled with two dogs in the Gimlet neighborhood south of Ketchum.
Gimlet resident Lon Stickney was treated to the kind of surprise no pet owner would ever wish for when he stepped out of his home on New Year’s Eve to check on his two dogs.
Glancing around for the pair of 60- to 70-pound mixed-breed dogs, Stickney, a pilot for Sun Valley Heli-Ski, found them in the fight of their lives with a cougar. Stickney’s home is located near the Big Wood River’s forested corridor just north of the confluence with the East Fork.
Calmly retelling the story last Friday, Stickney said all he could see when he approached the confrontation was a tumbling ball of fur. Wanting to do something to save his dogs, he grabbed a large leaf rake and approached the melee.
“I poked at it and this cougar looked up,” he said. “He started walking towards me.”
Seeing the cougar’s approach, Stickney gathered up the two bleeding dogs and retreated to the house. Soon after, he and his wife, Gail Stickney, glanced out their living room window to see the cougar’s eyes fixated at them through the thin pane of glass. The cougar stepped away.
“It turned and went under my deck,” he said.
Stickney quickly decided he should call the authorities for help. He telephoned the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, which contacted Idaho Department of Fish and Game Conservation Officer Lee Garwood, a Hailey resident.
Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce
Within an hour, Garwood and Rob Morris, another Fish and Game conservation officer based in the Wood River Valley, arrived at the Stickneys’ home. Checking under the couple’s deck, the two officers saw the cougar staring back. After assessing the situation and consulting with Fish and Game officials in Jerome, Garwood and Morris proceeded to tranquilize the cornered animal.
The cougar was a young male—likely just 2 years old—and was probably searching for a home range of its own, Garwood speculates. He said there have been a number of cougar sightings in the lower East Fork area in the past month or so. The cougar they captured may be the same animal, he said.
Garwood said it may also be the same animal that attacked dogs twice over the summer in the Elkhorn and Triumph areas.
The big cat was likely pushed into the river corridor by recent snows that have forced its main prey base—elk and mule deer—out of their summer ranges, Garwood speculates.Once the cougar was under control and placed in a transport box, Garwood and Morris drove the 80-pound predator over to the Little Wood River drainage north of Carey. After the tranquilizer had worn off enough to allow the cougar to safely move out on its own, the two officers released the cat.
Garwood said Stickney handled the situation well by bringing his dogs indoors and calling the authorities for help. He said people should never try to handle that kind of situation on their own.
“Let us handle it,” he said.Garwood has several other winter-related wildlife tips for locals. First, he said he likes to hear from the public when they encounter wildlife such as moose, cougars, gray wolves and black bears. Hearing reports from the public can help Fish and Game officers develop a picture of which areas individual animals may be occupying.
Garwood also cautioned that recent snows have really begun to limit the available habitat for local deer and elk. He said people who run into wildlife while out recreating in the snow should reconsider their plans and find an alternative spot to play, in order to let the animals conserve their energy.
“The world has become a little smaller now because of the snowfall,” he said.
People should also be careful with their dogs, no matter how well behaved they think they are, Garwood said.“The chase instinct kicks in,” he said.
Garwood said local pet owners should be aware that all of Blaine County is cougar country and should act accordingly. He said that when letting a dog outside, people should turn the porch light on and make sure the coast is clear.
“If you can supervise the animal, that’s best,” he said. “There’s always a miniscule chance that a cougar will be passing through.”
To this, Stickney can now surely attest.“They’re around and they’re not afraid of anybody,” he said.
Except for a bit of soreness and the stitches to mend their torn sides, the Stickneys report that their two dogs—Daphne and Ruby—are doing fine.
MULE DEER RESTORATION COMMITTEE TO MEET IN ELKO
The newly formed Mule Deer Restoration Committee is set to hold its second meeting in Elko Thursday, April 15, beginning at noon in the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) office on 60 Youth Center Road. A teleconference phone will be set up at the 1100 Valley Road Headquarters location as well.
The Mule Deer Restoration Committee, a sub-committee created by Nevada Board of Wildlife Commission (NBWC) Chairman Gerald Lent with the purpose of helping to restore mule deer numbers in the state, is chaired by NBWC vice-chairman Scott Raine. Other members of the committee include Wilde Brough, Cory Lytle, Pat Laughlin and John Carpenter. Tony Wasley, NDOW game biologist, is assigned as staff to the committee.
Raine will hold a review of the Draft Charter for Committee Operations and then review a list of possible factors affecting mule deer populations that the committee will be considering. The review will be followed by a discussion of early Nevada history by local residents Cliff Gardner, Mike Laughlin and Wasley.
The meeting will wrap up with a review of committee assignments. The assignments have been divided among committee members and include liaisons for the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, Nevada Farm Bureau, and Wildlife Services. Committee members will also be tasked with research and findings regarding several possible factors involving mule deer numbers. These factors include energy development, shed horns, wild horses, pinyon juniper encroachment; ungulate competition; road crossings; predation; doe hunts; genetics, secondary effects of helicopters, and grazing.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) protects, restores and manages fish and wildlife, and promotes fishing, hunting, and boating safety. NDOW’s wildlife and habitat conservation efforts are primarily funded by sportsmen’s license and conservation fees and a federal surcharge on hunting and fishing gear. Support wildlife and habitat conservation in Nevada by purchasing a hunting, fishing, or combination license. For more information, visit www.ndow.org.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed two mountain lions on Wednesday, one in the backyard of a Yucaipa home and the other on the porch of a house in Trona.A homeowner in the 12000 block of 17th Street called for help about 11:40 a.m. after
spotting a young mountain lion in the backyard. Officials said the deputy shot and killed the wild cat, who is believed to have eaten several small neighborhood pets in recent days.
The other mountain lion was first spotted on Tuesday near Fifth and F streets in Trona after it ate a pet. Residents said they were concerned for small children who waited at bus stops in the area.
About 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, a resident called deputies because the mountain lion had apparently killed one of her animals and was lounging on her porch.
The cat was still there when deputies arrived, and was shot and killed “in the interest of public safety,” officials said.
Today I found an interesting site with plenty of stories about cougar attacks – mostly in California where cougars are protected by proposition.
Click HERE
October 2009 Colorado Deer Story
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A young buck mule deer gored a 63-year-old woman
near Florissant on Monday after she apparently called to the animal in an attempt to pet him, officials from the state Division of Wildlife said today in a news release.
Responding to her calls, the deer came closer, then lowered his head and charged the woman, identified as Joan Nutt, who was at her sister’s home when the attack occurred, officials said in a statement. She grabbed one of the deer’s antlers in an attempt to fend him off, but he knocked her down before she could escape.
A motorist driving by the home saw the deer stomping Nutt, stopped to assist and was able to scare the animal away before contacting the Teller County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency medical personnel took Nutt to Pikes Peak Regional Medical Center in Woodland Park. The deer’s antlers and hooves left cuts on her elbow and lower arm, in addition to minor wounds on her hands, upper leg, stomach and hip. She was released from the hospital after surgeons placed a pin in one of her arms, said Michael Seraphin, a spokesman for the Wildlife Division.
The deer was tranquilized and later euthanized because officials deemed it a “threat to human safety.” His carcass was sent to a Fort Collins lab for additional testing, but results haven’t been released. Seraphin stressed that wildlife officials don’t lightly decide to euthanize an animal.
Medics treating Nutt at the scene said they had to continually chase the buck away because he kept returning to the area. That could be an indication that someone had tried to domesticate and treat him as a pet, said wildlife officer Aaron Flohrs, who was at the scene.
The family said that the deer frequently visited the property, but there was no clear evidence that Nutt was feeding him. Nutt reiterated today that the family hadn’t been feeding him either, Seraphin said. The home is located in a rural subdivision, away from designated camping areas.
The full fee is required up front and there is a non-refundable $27 non-resident application fee. Cost for a standard deer hunt is $270, and for a quality hunt – $355.
Click HERE to apply.
The application deadline is April 6. If you want you can apply for a preference point as your first choice and then apply for a hunt as your second choice. If you draw the hunt then you get no refund and lose your accumulated points for the hunt. If not then you pay $25 plus the application fee and keep your preference point. Or, if you like you can apply for up to five hunt choices, and if you don’t draw then you may keep (and pay) for a license and get a preference point that way. Cost for a non-resident is $329 plus or minus.
Keep applying and building up your bonus points. Maybe you will draw.
Good Luck
The Nevada application period runs from March 19 to April 19. You may use a paper application or apply online. In order to get a bonus point you must buy the license and not have it refunded if you don’t get a tag. There is a slim chance you will get drawn without any bonus points. You can list five choices.
The license costs $142. Deer tags cost $240. Application fees are $16.50 if you apply online.
Click HERE or go to the states tab for more information
Good Luck
